Ready for summer action
Xmas and the summer holidays can be a little depressing when you are on your own. My plan this year is to get out and about, meet new people, and to be as active as I can be. Thanks to all the great options at the Albany Mega Centre I’m feeling totally ready for an action-packed summer.
They say Christmas is a time for family, but my folks are still in the UK and my siblings are now living all over the world. In the last 10 years, since moving to New Zealand, Christmas has always felt a bit sad and lonely. Good friends go away on holiday – many off to see their families – leaving me to endure endless days of lame Christmas movies and New Year variety specials on my own. It’s enough to get anyone down.
I live alone and most of the time it doesn’t bother me. I enjoy my own company and I have a small group of close friends I can always call upon. Most Christmases I find myself reflecting on my solitary existence but last year that reflection verged on depression. I don’t know if it was the bad weather, which forced me indoors for days on end, but I found myself down and unable to get out of the spiral of sadness. It wasn’t until late January, and after a couple of sessions with my counsellor, that I was I was able to feel positive about life again.
So Christmas 2023 was fast approaching, and the thought of being alone again had me worried about my state of mind. Worrying about what may happen set me off, making the depression cycle almost self-fulfilling. My counsellor suggested that I get active and find ways to get out of the house every day and connect with new people. So that’s the plan for summer 2023/24.
All I need now is to get ready for that active, people-filled, summer.
The first stop was at Rebel Sport. I’m on the hunt for the complete tennis collection. I’ve joined the local tennis club as they have both mid-week and weekend club days where you just show up and they pair you with people to play with. I’ve always loved tennis and I was pretty good at it back home. Rebel Sport has the works, from tennis rackets and accessories to shorts and t-shirts.
I spent a bit of time with the sales assistant on getting the right shoes. I need something ‘multisport’ for tennis but also for walking. I signed up for the local community walking group that meets three times a week to ‘walk and talk’ around the local streets. I’ve lived here for three years and know very few of my neighbours so the chance to connect with others was exciting.
At the other end of Albany Mega Centre, I found myself at Pack & Pedal. A colleague at work e-introduced to me to a friend of hers that lives in the next suburb over from me. He also lives alone and is staying around for the holidays. He said he loves to go for bike rides, and I stupidly replied, “So do I.” We’re meeting on Boxing Day for a local ride. The only problem is that I don’t have a bike.
The young guy in Pack & Pedal was clearly in the know and talked me through all the options. Fifteen minutes later I had a bag of Lycra and was working out how to get my new bike into the back of my Suzuki Swift.
The last stop was Golf Warehouse. My dad was golf crazy and I learnt to play when I was a young teen. I haven’t picked up a club since coming to New Zealand. The pro at Golf Warehouse helped me work out the right set of clubs for me based on my height and grip. He also sorted me out with golf balls, tees, and gloves. The plan is to head down to the golf range between Christmas and New Year, to refresh my swing, before joining the local golf club early in the new year.
With a few days to go until Christmas, I am really looking forward to the summer break. That’s already a good start, heaps better than the dread I felt last year on the last day of work. Thanks to Albany Mega Centre, I have everything I need and I’m now ready for a happy summer of activity and connecting with new people.
