Day 4 - Sunday 22nd March
Mothers Day really emphasises how this pandemic has changed our lives so drastically. The day when normally anybody who is within travelling distance of their Mum would normally visit her, enjoy a meal out, exchange cards and gifts and get a welcome boost of motherly love. I message my Mum to wish her a happy day and she phones me back to tell me her flowers have arrived, although the man left them on the doorstep and put a card through the door rather than posting them, which somewhat undermines their USP. She was pleased that the bouquet includes some of her favourite freesias, and so was I. She's a resourceful and self-sufficient sort, despite her age and mobility issues, and will no doubt find ways to entertain herself today.
My mission is today the garden - I've dug out our seeds and I'm preparing the beds for planting - I spend around four hours weeding four raised beds and one of our polytunnels. It's a beautiful spring day and with my radio to keep me company it could be BC - before coronavirus - apart from the absence of planes (which I don't really miss anyway). It's hard physical work and when I finish my back is aching, but it feels good to have got it done.
I take a brief break to skype my daughter, son-in-law and grandson - the latter is first confused, then alternately indifferent and engaged. It's such a lovely day I suggest to my friend that she comes over and sits two metres from me in the garden for a cup of coffee. I miss the bear hug that is her normal greeting, but it's still a welcome taste of normality to sit and chat for half an hour. We're interrupted by my son who emerges from his bedroom (at 6pm!) with a card, flowers and chocolates for Mothers Day. After that, a brief but very welcome bubble bath with The Archers - who, bizarrely, exist in a parallel universe where CV has never happened.
It's irritating to hear on the news that beaches and parks have been overrun today with people who are ignoring the advice on social distancing. I've come to the conclusion that this needs to be enforced, as some of us clearly can't be trusted to be sensible. As somebody with lung damage from pneumonia I'm painfully aware that if I am infected I'm more likely to need hospitalisation and it's obvious that there are not enough ventilators to go around if we don't act swiftly to minimise the spread. People who flout the advice are playing Russian roulette with my life, and the lives of others similarly compromised as well as all the medical staff.
I'm enjoying the opportunity to cook for another veggie and so my son and I have tagine tonight - delicious, and also a good way to use up the slightly limp celery and bendy carrots in the fridge. Hubby's roast chicken is dismembered after dinner and I save the remaining meat and make a stock with the bones and vegetable trimmings. It's 10pm by the time I sit down but I feel I've achieved a lot today, and that's definitely good for my mental health. My brain likes me to be busy.
Today I am grateful for the love of family and friends.
My mission is today the garden - I've dug out our seeds and I'm preparing the beds for planting - I spend around four hours weeding four raised beds and one of our polytunnels. It's a beautiful spring day and with my radio to keep me company it could be BC - before coronavirus - apart from the absence of planes (which I don't really miss anyway). It's hard physical work and when I finish my back is aching, but it feels good to have got it done.
I take a brief break to skype my daughter, son-in-law and grandson - the latter is first confused, then alternately indifferent and engaged. It's such a lovely day I suggest to my friend that she comes over and sits two metres from me in the garden for a cup of coffee. I miss the bear hug that is her normal greeting, but it's still a welcome taste of normality to sit and chat for half an hour. We're interrupted by my son who emerges from his bedroom (at 6pm!) with a card, flowers and chocolates for Mothers Day. After that, a brief but very welcome bubble bath with The Archers - who, bizarrely, exist in a parallel universe where CV has never happened.
It's irritating to hear on the news that beaches and parks have been overrun today with people who are ignoring the advice on social distancing. I've come to the conclusion that this needs to be enforced, as some of us clearly can't be trusted to be sensible. As somebody with lung damage from pneumonia I'm painfully aware that if I am infected I'm more likely to need hospitalisation and it's obvious that there are not enough ventilators to go around if we don't act swiftly to minimise the spread. People who flout the advice are playing Russian roulette with my life, and the lives of others similarly compromised as well as all the medical staff.
I'm enjoying the opportunity to cook for another veggie and so my son and I have tagine tonight - delicious, and also a good way to use up the slightly limp celery and bendy carrots in the fridge. Hubby's roast chicken is dismembered after dinner and I save the remaining meat and make a stock with the bones and vegetable trimmings. It's 10pm by the time I sit down but I feel I've achieved a lot today, and that's definitely good for my mental health. My brain likes me to be busy.
Today I am grateful for the love of family and friends.
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