And just like that… it’s 2021

If the sound of Carrie Bradshaw’s finger’s speed-typing a cliché didn’t give you fresh hope for 2021, perhaps should stop right there. You might just be reading the wrong blog. But if you’re anything like me – who came of age on a TV diet of Cosmos, Manolos, NYC skylines and pale pink tutus – you’ll completely understand why I’m plagiarising the show that inspired a thousand (and more) blogs back in the late 90s and early 2000s. Even though I’m very aware of the fact Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda are 100% totally made-up characters, I still believe if they can make a comeback in 2021 (who needs Samantha anyway?), then I’m confident the rest of the world can too. I just hope they start wearing more practical shoes and drinking more palatable cocktails.

Here’s the thing: the global comeback we’d all been waiting for (SATC aside) – all the way back there on December 31, 2020 as we high-fived instead of kissed on New Year’s Eve – seems to be taking a l-i-t-t-l-e- longer than we’d expected. January 2021 is almost over now… just like that! They say time flies when you’re having fun, but apparently it also flies when you’re repeatedly binge-cooking (and therefore binge-eating and perhaps occasionally binge-drinking), binge-reading and yes of course, binge-watching TV while in yet another kind of kind of quarantine/lockdown/tiered/isolation/restricted living situation (unless you’re reading this in Australia or New Zealand!). Are we having fun yet? Do we even remember how to have fun?

OF COURSE WE DO! While the current restrictions prohibit us from having big, loud, boisterous fun in public, it seems our collective consciousness is much more positive than when we skidded head-first into the pandemic back in March last year. There’s a sense of hope in the air… especially here in the beautiful, fresh Ibiza air, which this time around, we’re able to get out in nature and enjoy. The sun is shining, and the weather… well yes, at the risk of yet again sounding cheesy, the weather is sweet. With temps hitting between 18 and 20 degrees this week, it almost feels as if spring has sprung already – people are swimming, sunbathing, hiking, running, picnicking (safely and only with members of their own households of course!), frolicking and yes, having fun. I’m not saying life is easy for everyone right now, but when we’re reminded of just how beautiful this little Mediterranean paradise is in winter, it’s easy to be filled with hope for how much fun it’s going to be in summer.

And so, in the meantime, we sit tight. We wait. And we hope and we pray and we wish and we believe and we dream and we want so badly for the world to make a comeback soon. While we wait, we watch endless reruns of Sex and the City (even the godawful SATC2 movie) because, well, while we’re waiting for the world to come back to life, we may as well prep for that comeback too. “Sometimes we need to stop analysing the past, stop planning the future and stop figuring out precisely how we feel, stop deciding exactly what we want and just see what happens,” quipped my favourite TV heroine in an episode a long time ago and I couldn’t help but think she was onto something. We can’t go back in time and do things any differently. We can’t make firm plans for a future with ever-changing goalposts. We don’t have to know how we feel, when feelings can change in the blink of an eye – one day we might be filled with happiness and the next with sadness, and that’s totally OK. For now, all we can do is the best we can, with what we’ve got. For me, that’s hope.

As I sit here pondering hope, fun and the state of the world in general (and wonder how Carrie Bradshaw would address this situation in her column), just outside my balcony doors is a flurry of activity. The smell of fresh paint is already in the air, the relentless sound of tractors, drills, hammers and sanding machines is floating across the airwaves like music to my ears. The cyclical nature of Ibiza is revealing itself as restaurateurs are prepping for the season ahead, entrepreneurs are finding opportunities in places they may never have thought possible, venues are advertising job opportunities for summer and new island residents are being welcomed into new neighbourhoods (hello Brits escaping Brexit!). Good things are happening, and good times are coming – especially to those who wait.

And just like that… the story continues. While we sit at home and ride out the storm – or if you’re lucky enough to be in Ibiza, sit on a beach and ride it out in the sun – please remember that we wouldn’t have the privilege of a better future if it wasn’t for our healthcare workers, our essential workers, frontline workers, teachers, scientists and so on. These are the people we patiently wait for; those we wear our masks for; the ones we sacrifice our social gatherings for; they’re the ones we all should be so grateful for as we edge closer and closer to the fun of another summer season in Ibiza, and the revival of our world. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: THANK YOU. GRACIAS. GRACIES. MERCI. GRAZIE. DANKE. TAK. TERIMA KASIH. ARIGATO. OBRIGADO. SPASIBO. A million times over, thank you.