o0o
With each day that passes, I am more and more glad that I left work when I did.
I am also very very aware of how incredibly fortunate I was, to be in the position of having the support (in all ways) from My Love, that meant I was able to have that choice to leave work.
With the clamp-downs that have been happening now surrounding COVID-19, and all the associated job losses that are going along with it, I know that even though I was in an industry in which I would be very much needed right now, as every pair of feet on the [medical] floor is direly essential – I wouldn’t have been able to answer the call anyways – and would have been required to leave work and self isolate due to my chronic health conditions; at a time that wasn’t of my choosing, and that I didn’t have the time or opportunity to mentally, financially, or emotionally prepare for…
I have also been very conscious in the 6 plus months since I left work, to be slowly but surely stocking up and preparing our home and garden to work more smoothly and to provide more and more of what we need in terms of food.
This has resulted in a feeling of quiet confidence – I’d even go so far as to say security – for both of us; in these uncertain times…
We have ample food, we have gardens that produce food for us each and every day, and more food is sprouting daily.
I am also a reasonably decent cook and I take a lot of pride in having the ability to create meals from scratch and in being able to provide nutritious food for us to enjoy.
Conversely and oddly though – having said that – I can’t actually truly say that cooking is something I get excited about! lol
We are fortunate to be isolated distance-wise far enough away from the neighbours that I don’t need to feel anxious if I hear them cough – and in all honesty I don’t think I would hear them cough unless they were right by our boundary fence anyways!
I was personally in isolation lockdown for around 16 weeks, with my only outings being to empty our rubbish at the local tip where I can just drive through and not interact with anyone.
In the last couple of weeks though, my Love has taken me – firstly on weekly drives through town – just so that I could finally have a bit of a change of scenery….we then added in a weekly park stop for lunch, and I have now been in to actual shops a couple of times.
There isn’t a whole lot I miss about being out and about in the outside world if I’m honest.
I guess the thing that I most miss, is that short superficial chat to shopkeepers and such, and going out for fish & chips in the park 🙂
We hadn’t had/allowed anyone to come to the Farm for the last four months or so, and then in one week I had three seperate friends drop in for a (pre-arranged) cuppa and a wander through the garden – which was actually really nice!
Just getting to chat about my ex workplace and catch up on the gossip, and to get their thoughts and feelings on what’s being going on out in the world; as well as being able to check in with them whilst actually looking them square in the eyes, to see how they were travelling in general, was good for the soul and the head…
As restrictions on lock-down ease, I do however admit to feeling more of an un-ease.
As I look around at how people are acting and reacting, I can see a lot of complacency setting in – particularly in the smaller towns or towns that haven’t had any local cases that they are aware of – and many therefor somehow seem to feel they’re immune – that’s its a problem for others, but certainly not THEM!
The fact is though, that in the last 24 hours there have been over one hundred and fifty thousand new cases globally.
[read that again – its insanity!!]
After having had no new cases diagnosed for 26 days, New Zealand has now had two new cases from people who flew in via India; and South Australia has had a horrendous week, with 29 new cases.
On top of that – recent research suggests that those people who are asymptomatic who have tested positive to COVID-19, are actually presenting with increased lung damage on CT scans.
With the research facts showing that approximately half of all infections are spread before people have symptoms, it’s important to know that the truth is, whether someones asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, even though they can look and feel fine, they can still make others sick.
Whilst we can’t control how others behave, we can control our own behaviour; and in such uncertain times I hope that each and every one of you is being truly mindful of how you are interacting with your environment when you’re out and about.
Until next time – Stay Safe & Wash Your Hands Folks!
