LET’S KEEP CLOSE
Isolation, social distancing and lockdown… words that were not part of our everyday vocabulary at the beginning of the year, but now they’re nearly all we can talk about.
I’m missing people. Just look at me and Elaine, our lifestyle editor, in this picture. This was taken just before lockdown was announced. We’re touching, leaning in. That week, it wasn’t strange for colleagues to touch. Hugs, whether for comfort or celebration, were a normal part of our working life. Caring is after all at the heart of what we do at this magazine. We take thousands of decisions – big and small – to put these pages together, always with the aim of getting things ‘just so’ to delight and inform you, our reader, who is going through this exciting and daunting time of becoming a mother.
As you touch these pages, I hope you can sense the care behind every image and article. Elaine is the person responsible for our decor and shopping pages. I like to joke that beside her name in the dictionary it says ‘mooi’ because everything she creates is so beautiful. Elaine also finds time to run marathons and has the dedication and perseverance to keep up her training in the early winter morning hours. Hats off! Throughout the course of the year I’ll be introducing more of the people who work on this magazine, because it takes a team of dedicated and skilled women – all mothers themselves – to keep all the good stuff coming.
We love to hear about your lives too. Please write to us at sharing@ypbmagazine.com, or participate in our chats on social media. For the rest of winter, hug and cuddle the people you live with as much as you can, especially your baby, of course. There are proven physical and mental health benefits to the human touch, for the person receiving the touch and the person giving the touch. Touch even boosts immunity! If you’re pregnant, massages from your partner are essential. Show him this! When all of this is over and corona is just a bad memory, don’t be surprised if you meet me and get a bear hug. There was a little joke I read a while ago about the Swedish version of lockdown, which was very light compared to the rest of the world, where it was recommended that they keep a distance of 2 metres when out and about, and the average Swede responded with ‘why so close?’
Well, I’m South African through and through, and I like to hug! Until we can for real, let’s keep close through these pages.