Can you believe we’ve reached week 12 of The Corona Diaries? This week marks the end of the allocated time that Bozza advised people who were considered ‘at risk’ to stay indoors. 12 whole weeks of this new life we’ve all found ourselves in. It feels as though so much has happened in the last 12 weeks and it’s strange to think of life before the pandemic.
I went back to the very first post of this series where I vowed to write each week for ‘as long as the coronavirus pandemic lasts’. I feel like that’s quite indicative of my naivety towards this whole thing – I genuinely thought it’d be over by now (I mean, I thought I’d be going on my honeymoon in June so I’m probably not the best judge of pandemic durations!) As stated in the previous posts, I actually won’t be writing for as long as the pandemic lasts as it’s obvious now that we could be reaping the consequences of this pandemic for months, even years to come. It feels like a natural time to end with this post, so here’s my final week’s record of The Corona Diaries!
We’re now allowed to meet up in small groups in gardens, so this weekend we had some friends over in the garden, and it felt beyond amazing to see them again. It was such a happy day seeing people and having a slice of normality. I had forgotten what it was like to feel remotely pretty (I feel like all I ever see nowadays when I look in the mirror is a pale, ragged-looking slob who desperately needs her roots doing!), but loved the opportunity to put makeup on again (I know I could put it on every day to sit at home all day but really, can I be bothered?). And with a dose of normality came something that I’d forgotten all about for a little while – a whopping hangover! With all these months off proper drinking sessions, I forgot that my precious stomach can’t handle the acid from copious amounts of cider, and I ended up spending the entire night Saturday night throwing up. Urgh! I’d been craving some normality but definitely wasn’t craving that normality.
Sunday was the day we were supposed to be off on our honeymoon ahead of our first anniversary on 15th! I’ll admit, I was feeling a little sad that we should have been on our way to the Maldives, but was more just counting my blessings and fortune at seeing our friends. Despite being hungover, James drove all the way to Ormskirk to pick me up the most beautiful bunch of flowers, that he’d ordered specially from our wedding florist The Flower Hall. The bouquet was huge and exactly like my wedding bouquet, it was beautiful! I was hungover emosh, so of course, I cried at the sight of them! But even if I wasn’t, I think I’d have cried – that’s what true beauty does! Our house now smells divine and I am instantly happy when I see them – what’s a honeymoon anyway?! God, I married a good’un.
As of 15th, things will slowly start to return to a new normal. Some kids are already going back to school, some food outlets have reopened and ‘non-essential’ shops will begin to open. There may be a second spike later in the year, and I may end up writing another mini-series – this one’s been quite successful after all! Who knows?! All I know is that I hope the second half of 2020 is better than the first part.
So many people have struggled in various ways throughout this pandemic, and my heart goes out to everybody who has experienced, is experiencing, or will experience loss or grief of some sort as a result of this virus. For now, the pandemic continues. But it will be a memorable day when there are no new cases or deaths, and the virus is eradicated, though I appreciate that may not be for some time to come yet. If you’ve been with me from the start of this journey, I hope you’ve enjoyed the weekly insights into my life and I haven’t bored you too much (I mean – if I’ve bored you, you know you can just not read, right?!)
Take care, keep safe and I wish you all the health, safety and happiness. I hope you get to see and hug your loved ones again very soon, and here’s hoping that none of us ever take our friends, family and freedom for granted again.
Reflect and Introspect 