First post of 2021: new year, new possibilities? Not sure about that.

I am not really a person for making New Year's Resolutions, but for some people it does work. How about for you? For me it is more like continuing the road of 2020 with focus on further recovery of the brain, make my life meaningful and try to enjoy the little steps forward. It is also a year where the dutch social security organization (UWV) will make a decision about me being able to work or not, after which I can deal with all consequences of that decision. But on the other hand... the last topic of this blog is about a new sponsordeal, so yes, there are new possibilities as well!

So far, the last weeks are not that good for me. For some reason I feel a bit down and it takes a lot of energy to stay positive. A really good friend of my wrote "I think you also should not underestimate how much the ongoing pandemic does to our mental balance. Even if you think it does not touch you directly and does not restrict your daily life too much." And I think she is right here. When I think about the pandemic problems, I think about people who see their restaurant, shops etc. going down, without having any influence on that, or people getting ill or even worse. Esther and I do not have to be afraid of losing our jobs, we are both still healthy, and I can still go to the Bikeshop for four hours a week to do my thing. Yes, Esther has to work really hard and you can see she is getting more tired, but besides that, we cannot really complain. Therefore, somehow I don't feel like I can complain about the situation, however, I do miss going to Leipzig, going to the pool, meet friends without restrictions, and even more... although I am not a cuddly person, I really mis giving and getting hugs from friends. So, probably that is one of the reasons I feel a bit down. How do I deal with it? Esther is helping me out and giving the "schop onder je kont" (problem with the proper English translation) when I need it, I have two friends in my safe bubble, where I eat every Wednesday evening and I try to meet one friend a week outside for a walk in the forest. Furthermore, I have my routine with going to the Bikeshop twice, physiotherapy, cycling and running, so most of the days I manage. The sun will come out again, so keep up and focus on that.

The more positive things: I was really surprised when I got the present I am showing at the above picture. Getting a sweater "Cyclista - no balls needed for glory" from a close friends came out of notting and I love it. Also nice to wear at the Bikeshop with all the guys working there :-).

I am also continuing the knitting projects, follow me on instagram to see more about them or perhaps in a later blog. It keeps me busy, and make other people happy, especially the last two baby sweater projects I finished.

If you follow me on Instram, you may have seen the message about a sponsordeal with Nutrisense.nl and Powerbar. They will support me in my process finding a new balance in life with all the things going on and how my positive approach to deal with it can hopefully help others as well and what sports brings me.

I felt really lucky that the planned photo 'shoot' was with such a nice route and perfect weather (at least for me). I am really happy with this support from Nutrisense and I hope that I can announce more sponsors soon. I will keep you updated :-) Nice things are coming!

So, to close this blog, as you perhaps are used by now, an honest blog about me, my struggles and daily life. I hope you enjoyed reading and more to come. If you have questions, just leave a comment and I will respond.