Personal Blog

It's been so many days that nobody can remember a time before lockdown. Staying at home has become so normal that the future of going out en masse feels quite reckless. The idea of socialising in the presence of Other People is fraught with confusing etiquette - how will we greet each other? What if you go for the elbow while they bow?

The last time I wrote a lockdown post was on day 14. Time flies when you're losing your mind. But as of today, we are captive no more! Today marks the first day of state capture level 4; a stipulation of mostly captivity with a few hours of freedom each day where people enthusiastically try to infect their neighbours with the virus.

Yes, that tiny orange chair in the photo is mine. In this house, the adults get the cheap seats…or the seats that are inaccessible to the dog/kid. The hammock is still safe because neither one can climb in on their own (although they both try).

So we’ve managed a week. We are all still alive and we are in fair to middling spirits, with occasional bouts of hopeless tears and/or flaming, psychopathic rage. For a bit of background, my job is not going well. In fact, it’s not really going at all. 

Spending 24 hours a day in the company of your family is an interesting experience. You learn things about each other that you didn’t know. For example, I’ve learned that my husband – who works from home in real life – has built-in coping skills for this crisis that I don’t.

The First Day - Except it’s not really the first day, as I’ve been working from home for a week and schools have been closed for approximately 2 years – sorry, I mean 8 days. We have been practicing for lockdown this past week, mainly by getting in each other’s way and clarifying our new family greetings.