Home Instead

We all know that 2020 has slogged on.  Between a Global Pandemic and months in relative isolation we are all counting down the days to Christmas and the New Year with the wish that we can return to normal. 

Physically, as Christmas approaches and the nights get darker the days colder, our joints stiffen so  it’s probably time to begin thinking about our ‘elf and wellbeing’ so we can all make the most of 2021 when it finally arrives.

Our small family run company has struggled through the back to back lockdowns and tried to bring a little laughter into the lives of our community through a series of light hearted exercise videos on Facebook where Janette (my mother) and myself have bickered and bantered the days away with a camera, rather than throttle each other.

As 2021 approaches and our industry begins to beat the usual drums of “New Year New You” we would like you to take the time to reflect and think of all the aches, pains and what you have missed the most over the past 12 months and ask yourself what you want next year to bring. For ourselves we miss the light hearted atmosphere of our community exercise classes, miss meeting new people and hearing their stories and all we want to do is get people out of isolation and bring a little bit of joy back into their lives. True what I really want to do is move out of Janette’s spare bedroom, but for that to happen any time soon I’ll probably need a Christmas miracle of my own.

You see our small Community Interest Company was set up for two reasons – to help provide accessible exercise classes to the elderly and infirm and to get people out of isolation. Through social media our exercises are now mere clicks away with over 100 video’s covering a wide range of conditions.  We have booklets we have developed alongside local charities that contain home routines and we even have a video nutrition course and a book on the way, but to us the most important thing has always been to help people improve their health and tackle isolation.

We named ourselves after Yggdrasil – the Old Norse name for the tree of life, the meeting place of the old gods where they would discuss their issues openly without fear of being judged. We dreamed that one day we would be able to form some of the roots that support our community and bring people together and form new friendships. Yes 2020 has hit everyone hard and the pandemic has robbed us all of the things we take for granted, such as basic human contact, but as Christmas music begins to saturate the airways, and the festive spirit shines like a star over a certain manger we once again have something to look forwards to as a community.

So as 2020 draws to an end and you look towards making your New Year’s resolution, why not try something different? Let’s forget the usual New Year New You attitude and instead think of those activities and people we missed the most and simply resolve ourselves to make time for who really matters in our lives.