Wow 2021, never thought I would be so happy to see the end of a year but let's face it 2020 was the weirdest year ever. When you really stop and think about it it's mind blowing - we are truly living in a pandemic just like the movies sometimes portray! I bet no one will be making any disaster films for quite sometime. We will all be yearning for happy, funny films that take our minds away from what can only be described as an utterly bonkers year!
Yesterday we watched Stephen Fry's programme on all the firsts that happened within the last decade. It's actually quite hard to believe just how much the world has changed and to think we were worried that everything would end come January 1st 2000. Perhaps in some ways, society as we knew it, did end. With the launch of social media, the world has changed forever, some might say for the worse. I love how I can stay connected with friends and family through the likes of Facebook but I can see the negative influence of these platforms. If you have seen The Social Dilemma on Netflix you will know what I mean. I feel sorry for the younger generation, the pressures of being a teenager are ten-fold when your happiness depends on how many people 'like' your posts and putting a photo up means analysing yourself in ways that just never happened in the 80s. We are lucky that our boys are more interested in their X-boxes than posting selfies! There is one great invention - filters on Snapchat - hours of fun, and the bonus is your skin always looks amazing and you seem to drop 10 years :-)
On a personal level, as much as I am looking forward to 2021, I am also a little sad as this will be the year my son goes off to University.... having only one child this will be extra hard but I am also excited by the fact he will be making his own way in the world. It will be strange not having him around, or my eldest stepson Tom as he is also going off to Uni this year. The house will be quieter and when Stu finally gets back to London for work, I will be home alone with my pets much more than before. Before covid, I was home alone during the days but I always had Jake after College and then for a large chunk of this year we've had a busy home so it will be strange going back to being home alone and worse, no son here until holidays... how am I going to cope!
As I look back on last year, despite the craziness of it all. I had a good year - my son passed his driving test and took another step closer to being independent and it's great for when I need something from the shops and he can go for me - bonus! I've spent much more time with my stepsons due to lockdown - we've played games, watched films and hung out more than normal. Blended families are always tricky in the early days but as the kids have got older its definitely got easier. I think much of the battle in their younger years is they have both a mum and a dad so as a step-parent it's hard to find your role. Also when you blend a single child with three brothers who are very close it becomes complicated - for example my son is used to being on his own, likes his space and is more introvert than extrovert. Throw in stepbrothers who don't have space barriers and used to doing everything together and my son most likely felt like an outcast. When they were younger they probably took my son's quietness for being rude and uninterested in them, and although I am sure there was an element of that (let's face it most of us don't get on with our siblings all the time) it was more a case of him just being very different from them in terms of personality. As they've got older, they've adjusted to each other's ways and as a result when they spend time together, they get on well and I hope as they make their way into adulthood they will continue to grow their relationships and be there for each other. Lockdown has definitely helped their relationships grow, especially with the amount of time we have played Jackbox as a family. Games definitely bring people together.
Last year I also watched some great tv shows and saw some great films. I can't remember them all and before I make my recommendations I must tell you about Housewives of Beverly Hills. I stupidly decided to start watching it during lockdown - having never been a big fan of reality shows like this but I surprised both myself and my husband by choosing this to watch! What surprised me more was I got absolutely hooked, it was my go-to programme for doing my workouts and within 5 months I had watched the entire series. Meanwhile my husband constantly took the mickey out of me and the people on the show! It was so bad, but it was also great as I didn't have to focus too much and it meant I always had something to watch. I do wonder how these over-materialistic women coped with lockdown and the huge changes that meant to their lifestyles. I hope they have realised spending $50,000 plus on a child's birthday is ridiculous and hopefully they have given some of their wealth to help those families struggling with the impact of covid on their lives. If you have nothing better to do then I recommend it as it will keep you entertained with their backstabbing, childish behaviour.
My TV/Film Recommendations
I can't recall everything I watched but I will list some of the shows and films I/we have enjoyed over 2020. Some we just caught up with the latest season and others like MadMen we binged it all!
TV Series
Grace and Frankie
This is Us
The Split
The Good Doctor
The Undoing
I Am Not Okay With This
Defending Jacob
Lincoln Rhyme
New Amsterdam
Hanna
Umbrella Academy
Schitt's Creek
Little Fires
MadMen
Selling Sunset
The Morning Show
Instant Hotel
Snowpiercer
Billions
For Life
The Queen's Gambit
The Letdown
It's Not The F*** End of the World
How to Get Away with Murder
Bridgerton
Unorthodox
Anne with an E
Films
Little Women
Military Wives
The Aeronauts
The Invisible Man
The Blind Side (although have seen this before)
Breakthrough
Gemini Man
I am pretty sure we watched more films that this but I can't remember (old age!) We only just finished Bridgerton yesterday and both me and Stu thoroughly enjoyed it. It's produced by Shona Rhimes the creator of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal (amongst others). To me, it's a combination of Downton Abbey meets Gossip Girl meets Fifty Shades of Grey - if you want sex and scandal with a dollop of Regency then this show ticks the boxes. It's very addictive and we watched it all within a few days, let's hope Season 2 isn't far behind. I am a big fan of Shona's work, I am a vivid watcher of Grey's (currently having withdrawal symptoms) and Scandal is just brilliant. I often watch a series whilst I'm getting dressed, currently this is reliving Dawsons Creek - it's great when you go back to old shows as you suddenly realise characters you loved from recent shows are actually making their debuts. For example, I now realise that Scott Foley (Jack Ballard from Scandal) played the school football jock in Dawson's Creek and if you watched The Queen's Gambit you might recognise the character of Benny as Thomas Brodie-Sangster who played Liam Neeson's stepson in Love Actually as well as other shows like Game of Thrones. Got to love IMDB for helping piece puzzles together.
Daphne and Simon from Bridgerton
I am so glad we have all these amazing production companies who can keep us entertained during this pandemic, we are so lucky for this and modern technology. Imagine if we were stuck here with covid during the 80s with only four or five tv channels, a landline phone and no internet.... we should remember this when we moan about how tough it is.
Anyway, a short blog today as it is already lunchtime and I am still sat here in my PJs and aside from doing some work first thing I haven't done anything else except pee lots (thanks liver detox). Talking of my detox, its only been five days and already I am spending more time than usual on the loo (thankfully we are at home constantly so it doesn't impact anything) I haven't been hit by the tiredness yet but I am sure that will be here soon. So this afternoon I am going to do my MS exercises and then find something new to binge on - let me know your suggestions in the comments. Enjoy your first day of 2021.