We are all in a state of shock, of not knowing what comes next. The news every day brings us more sadness, not just here in the UK but across the world.

What a strange and unsettled time we are all going through at the moment and who could have predicted that as we planned and organised our EPOP conferences at the beginning of the year, that we would now find ourselves, 1 month later, in such sad and uncertain times.

As a close and tight-knit team at JIGSAW, we too are having to adapt to a few months apart and although it will be a time for reflection and family, it is going to be challenging too. There is only so much cleaning, gardening, and painting that can be done without having to go out for further supplies!
Over the past couple of weeks, we believe that we have done the right thing by supporting our settings as best as we possibly could. We created 30 new daily activities for you to share and use in whatever way you saw fit, we had free zoom calls for you to access to ask questions and talk to and support each other, a ‘virtually loose’ forum to talk about anything that was not coronavirus and for 5 days, Vanessa offered FREE access to 11 of our online training programmes.

We had a huge response and it was heart-warming to see how many people benefited from this but sadly there were also those that thought that sending unkind messages and complaints because of a few issues we had, was the right thing to do! I guess in a time when actually the best of human nature has shone through, there will always be those that forget that there is a person at the end of their comments and who take the negativity very personally and very seriously.

We are all doing our best, we are all trying to do ‘the right thing’ and we will not let the odd person who is hell-bent on making someone’s life miserable be the thing that defines us.

JIGSAW will always be here to support you and whatever this looks like in the weeks and months ahead, we will do our utmost to ensure that we will bring positivity, love and genuine support to those of you that need it.

From today, Tuesday 31st March, Kate and I will be saying farewell for a little while, our 4-piece Jigsaw puzzle will become a 2 piece……but what a 2 piece, Vanessa and Nicki will be keeping Jigsaw going, being there for you when you need them the most.

We know and understand how hard these last few weeks have been for you all, we are in this together and we will get through this together.

Use this time wisely!

Hopefully, in a year’s time, this madness will be a distant memory, you never know, we may have more babies to look after as couples find ways to enjoy their time together! Take the time to be still, to think about what is important to you and to be more creative in your thinking. Your health and fitness may suddenly become the number one priority, (who hasn’t had a bounce around the living room with Joe Wicks?) and your children will know what it’s like to spend time with you. Imagine that?

It’s ok to be sad, to be scared and worried but make sure you are also reflecting on all that is good….the good may look very different at the moment, but it’s still good!

Let’s be kind, let’s make the most of this catastrophic situation, let’s be together, as a community, caring and helping others and remembering that our words and actions have consequences. We will all have a story to tell at the end of this.
I will say goodbye for now but I hope to see you all again soon.

Thank you, Vanessa and Nicki, see you again soon.

Take care, stay safe, be there for each other…..you never know when you may need that help.
With love always

Liz x