If six months ago, someone described how our world will change, it would be hard to believe. We are being told to avoid other people, keep contact to an absolute minimum and some must isolate themselves completely. Our stock markets are in free fall, people are afraid, some are dying, some in denial and some feel a sense of hopelessness.
These events seem to be moving so quickly it’s hard to remember what has happened and when. We weren’t entirely surprised to hear on the radio, on Friday as we were driving to collect Hannah from a rapidly emptying college, how cafes, bars, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, gyms etc were being asked to close. Social distancing and self isolation were being ramped up in an effort to “flatten the curve” as they say. This is likely to carry on for several months.
We continue to visit Rachel’s mum on a daily basis. Generally the visit is late morning, in time to cook her lunch. We prepare an afternoon tea and breakfast for the following day. We do the washing up, perhaps empty a bin or some other chore. We tell her what’s on TV that afternoon and talk about the weather and anything else going on. We leave a glass of water by her tablets, some doors are closed, some on the jar or wide open; we have a good system going.
My mother is far more independent. We met her at Bourton-on-the-Water a couple of days ago. I had bought some food for her and raided our freezer to bolster her supplies. We chatted through the open car windows, no hugging.
Having Hannah home now is an interesting experience. The house is full of wet suits, helmets and all kinds of outdoor gear. Yesterday morning, at 6:30am she woke us up and dragged us out for a little bike ride. It was cold and sunny, my gloved hands were painfully cold but it was worth it. We rode along the Busway and then passed some supermarkets with queues forming. Extraordinary.
While some of the super-rich people flee to their yachts or country retreats, sometimes being ushered to their private jets thus avoiding the usual airport hassles, there are some heartwarming examples of ordinary people pulling together. This is what I cling to; the goodness in people which can shine through and of course my Christian faith to give the ultimate assurance.
We also see signs of society already starting to rebalance itself. Those respected in society are now the lorry drivers, the shelf stackers, the emergency services, the NHS staff and others too. The overpaid football players, the celebrities and bankers all seem pointless now.
Rachel and I are pretty positive about the change in our lifestyle. However we do already miss seeing our friends, although there are plenty of phone calls, WhatsApp, texts, emailing etc going on. I think we will all have some serious celebrating with friends when all of this is over. Perhaps this is an opportunity to finally get on top of things at home – we have far too much STUFF which either needs to be sold, given away or taken to the Tidy Tip.
We have also enjoyed starting gardening once again, now the days are getting longer and things are starting to grow. We have concentrated so far on the front garden and perhaps, in an unspoken way, we hoped it would give an opportunity to say hello to anyone strolling passed. Our road seems very quiet with few people out and about.
Must blog soon about:
- should churches retreat or be wide open, in a virtual way?
- gym membership dilemma
- the strange fascination of making compost
- bread making latest
- being resilient – financially, emotionally, physically