The Corona Diaries Week 10: Change

Week 10 already! Every week as I write this and watch the week number increase, I can’t believe that we’re so far into lockdown. If it weren’t for my natural hair colour coming through and giving the game away, I’d think it had been a lot less time than it has been. Time flies when every day is the same (well, weekday, not weekends. They’re still amazing!).

A slice of self-care

Week 10 began with a glorious bank holiday Monday. There were so many things I’d imposed on myself to get done but it was such a beautiful, hot day that I decided to do some gardening, a few house duties and then spend the remaining hour of the afternoon reading on a sun lounger that Lindsey and Liam so kindly lent us at the start of lockdown, with a glass of red wine. It was divine.

One thing that lockdown has taught me is the need for self-care. Not just the niceness of it – the need for it. With nothing to do aside from work, and with nowhere to go, I got into a really positive self-care routine at the beginning of lockdown. But my jobs have been really busy lately and I’ve been feeling a little burnt out, and as a result, haven’t been making as much time for myself as I should be. Reading is my ‘switch off’ activity and also the way I aim to become a better writer, but I’ve not even been doing much of that lately. I’ll definitely be changing that in the coming weeks to re-fill my energy cup!

Update on lockdown measures

As of Monday 1st June (which at the time of publishing has now passed!), up to 6 people will be allowed to gather in another household’s garden – with social distancing measures in place, of course. The timing of the announcement was very convenient, I’ve not heard so much as a peep about the Dominic Cummings scandal since. Well played Bozza! McDonald’s have already started reopening their drive-thrus and some non-essential shops will reopen on 15th June – our first wedding anniversary! Maybe I’ll go on a trip to Primark to pacify myself that I’m not on our Maldivian honeymoon (I’m joking, I’d rather eat my own head than brave Primark in the current circumstances!).

It feels like life is slowly returning to normal, and honestly, I feel a little on edge. I’ve benefitted from certain things in lockdown and was finally getting into a routine and adapting to the circumstances. I knew the day would come when we’d need to readjust, and of course, lockdown measures being lifted are a good thing (although, really, the only thing I’ll perceive as good in regards to this virus is when people aren’t dying from it daily). But I think it will take time for us all to come to terms with all that’s happened, and the need to be kind to ourselves in the transition period is ever more prominent.

A natural close

Now that lockdown measures are starting to be lifted, I’ll look at bringing this series to a close soon. I started writing at the beginning of lockdown to document a living record of this awful period. I’m really happy with what I’ve done with it, but there’s probably not much more to say now that restrictions are being lifted and things are beginning to revert to a new normal. 

12 weeks was the amount of time that people with underlying health conditions or comprised immune systems would need to stay indoors. With this in mind, I’ll probably write another two entries to bring me to the end of that time period before closing off.

So I’ll see you next week for the penultimate instalment of The Corona Diaries series!