I didn’t know what to write about last week. There’s nothing exciting or fun happening at the moment. All that’s been happening are illness and death, and I’ve written quite a lot about that. Putting my thoughts on paper or rather in my blog has helped me address them a little. A mental therapy, of sorts.

It also dawned on me that it’s already October. The start of the last quarter and the final stretch of the year. Where did the days and months go? What’s happened over the last 274 days or so? What did I do or not do, and what have I to show for? I thought, maybe, a review of the 9 months of 2021 might help me lift the fog in my brain.

I started at the beginning. January. Nothing popped at first. I knew the New Year was quiet. No party. No fireworks display at KLCC. The shroud of Covid-19 or Covid-21 (as it seems to have a growing shelf life), was still omnipresent. Then a big smile emerged. I remembered. Happy days ensued from 23 January to 24 March. I looked forward to exciting surprises every day. Presents that I could choose from a tower of drawers. Plus, clues with directions to discover bigger gifts that could not fit into the drawers. What fun. All thanks to my husband. He made the first three months, a quarter of my 2021, exciting and memorable.

My 60^th birthday was equally noteworthy. My mum and siblings came together with cards, gifts, cakes, chocolates, flowers and balloons to make it special.  My mum, who was already not keen to venture anywhere outside her condo, made the effort to visit me that night to see the birthday decorations, take a few photos and check out my husband’s pinball machine, which she had a go at. Nice.

In March, my husband and I had a two-day holiday at the Awani Sepang Goldcoast Resort.  I had actually forgotten about this. The reservation was initially made for my husband’s birthday in October 2020. It didn’t happen due to the various lockdowns late last year. A window opened up in March, and we took advantage of it. Driving beyond 10km, being able to see vast expenses of oil palm plantations, orchards and kampung houses was good for the eyes and soul. No kidding. It was, and we were lucky to have been able to do it.

The resort itself was buzzing. We didn’t expect to see so many people in one place. To be fair, everybody, needed a holiday from the pandemic and lockdowns. Our accommodation was comfortable, and it overlooked the open sea, which felt liberating. Kampung Bagan Lalang, where the resort was located had a rural feel. Nice.

Also in March, we had another holiday, a day after my birthday at The Senja in Kuala Kubu Baru. From sea view, we went to a people-free, mountain view stay. Our Airbnb accommodation was a modern-minimalist glass and steel structure. Located in a private forest reserve surrounded by trees, the balcony provided a beautiful panoramic view of undulating hills and mountains. The temperature was cooler. Birds chirped. Monkeys chattered. In a funny sort of way, my highlight was sitting on the balcony and catching glimpses of the Keretapi Tanah Melayu or KTM trains running on tracks built in and amongst the thick forest terrain. They seemed to be plying the north-south routes at regular intervals.

In April, my husband and I did a two nights farm stay at the Northern Pastures in Kerling, Selangor. The property advertised on Airbnb looked inviting. Sitting on 3 acres of land, it had a huge double-storey house, 2 ponds and a variety of fruit trees ranging from durian, rambutan, jackfruit to mangoes. There were no fruits as the season starts in July/August. The cooler mornings allowed us to go for short walks in the area. Sit on the patio to watch the birds eat their breakfast of worms and bugs. The stand-out was the caretakers’ excitable little dog, called Lucy, I think, and Ramu and Sita, their goats.

The month of May saw more lockdowns to curb the rising numbers of Covid cases. Which, unfortunately, also curbed our holiday plans. We were scheduled to stay at the Padi Box, a resort located in the padi fields in Sekinchan, Selangor. That’s on hold.

June to September was less nice. Apart from getting our vaccines, much of the focus was visits to my mum’s respiratory and heart specialists. Not so-happy medical findings, and a still difficult to accept death of my dad-in-law. The last four months consumed my life so much that I had forgotten the good bits of 2021. This timely audit has helped me remember and feel thankful for the many haves in my life.  Nice.