Five weeks ago to the day, today, I arrived here on Arklay Island and was reunited with my sister. I think it is fair to say we have gotten caught up with everything that happened to us both since the world turned upside down. We are surviving well, have a set routine and are actually beginning to thrive, having found a home and made it our own, we are feeling about as comfortable as one can get given the circumstances. The word “normal” has an entirely new meaning now that I’m not quite sure everyone agrees with. So what is normal now? I think the definition of it varies from person to person, now that I think about it though, I think that is how it has always been. I guess we have to figure out what the “standard” is as a society before we can begin to define what is considered normal again.

I know for me, my personal ‘normal’ is being able to laugh again, allow myself to have a little fun, or maybe even a lot every know and then, to enjoy time spent with my family and the new friends I have made and to make more new friends. It does us no good to sit and worry and plan every waking moment of our lives, it’s exhausting. Of course one has to be more cautious now, trust is after all one of the most valuable of all commodities, it is not given easily if at all and once broken can now have, in some cases, deadly consequences.

Having said that, what is the point of life and finding that new normal for us all if we don’t actually live it to our fullest potential? Now, more than ever, we need each other, we need people to build this new world better than it was before so that it is fit to live in… to truly LIVE!