So we have completed our first week of lockdown and survived! The weather was really good which was a huge bonus. We joined neighbours out in our gardens, talking over the fence and keeping our distance. Being ‘all in this together’ has created a camaraderie between us and a certain amount of pragmatism. I must stress that we are all of a similar age so have lived through some of our own hard times. Being able to share this isolation with its very real challenges has brought us together and talking a lot more than we have done for a while.
Getting out for walks has been a real boon. Seeing the early signs of spring and breathing in fresh air (although some farmers are spreading compost on their fields!) creates a sense of well-being and makes me feel healthier! We don’t go for extended walks but stay in our area. On particularly sunny days last week we doubled a circuit. Going up a steep hill twice opened our lungs and justified the hot cross bun I had for tea later that afternoon!
But there are times when I feel claustrophobic! I am so used to the freedom of movement and choice! I focussed on our shopping trip last Friday as a chance to change out of my ‘glad rags’! When we arrived at the supermarket the queue was at least twenty trolleys long and we were told that only one person was allowed into the store unless under extenuating circumstances. They were also rationing certain products.
We had a list of shopping to do for some elderly neighbours. We would need more than two pints of milk and two loaves of bread! We didn’t want to go out more than once a week. After a quick discussion with my husband we decided that we would share the shopping. He took the neighbours shopping lists and drove to another supermarket. I stayed in the queue and finally managed to get everything barring toilet paper and soap. We kept in touch, thank heavens for mobiles, and delivered all the extra groceries as requested. Not ideal but this is not an ideal world.
Unless we have extra shopping to help neighbours this week we have decided that only one of us will go out on Friday. It’s just not worth taking any risks and this lockdown situation won’t last forever. We need to attend my mother in law’s cremation service in Leeds, eighty mile away. We’ll stay in her house (just the two of us) overnight to collect the necessary documents for probate and to cancel her driver’s licence, passport etc.
This week has been grey and dank. It’s easy to feel the same as the weather! I have to keep on reminding myself to take just one day at a time! This morning my husband and I will go for a walk. For lunch we’re having salmon and salad. I’m typing another chapter of my novel after lunch. I’m not a typist so this takes a while! I had a cowboy movie on the television yesterday so this extended the time it took to type chapter eight quite significantly!
I have ironing to do while my husband is cooking the evening meal (he enjoys cooking so we take turns, which suits me!) and there is a television programme I enjoy at nine o’clock tonight. I’m beginning to feel as if I’m slowing down which has its pros and cons! I don’t want to gain weight! I need to find a balance! Eat less or exercise more!
So, tomorrow is another day. A day when I should have gone with my friend to my late mother’s care home to give their exercise class. I am missing my two hour yoga class today. I’m not alone. There are many families worse off than me. I am grateful that I have a happy marriage. My partner is also a good friend. Life could be a whole lot worse! My family are well and we regularly keep in touch. FaceTime is marvellous! I saw my son and his family in Boston on Sunday! My daughter is recovering well from Flu? Coronavirus? we’re not sure!
I pray that we all get through this unscathed. I’m not going to focus on living like this for another few months! Today has some structure. I’ll sort out tomorrow when I wake up and check the weather! This is alien to me! I can either stay in bed and give up or I can get out of bed and make the most of another day, albeit grey and wet! This lockdown has taken away my freedom but not my choice of how I use this time!
My great grandmother sailed to South Africa from France to escape religious persecution. My grandmother lost family and friends in two world wars. My mother was a young girl during the war and then had to fight a debilitating disease for a number of years! I come from a line of strong women, I’ll not let them down!👠
Jenny Burrell 