Keeping My Sanity During Lockdown
There has been a lag since my last blog post…essentially since our country went into lockdown as a measure to reduce the transmission of the Covid-19 virus in March.
With the craziness of toilet paper and hand sanitizer hoarding, and the ensuing shortage thereof soon after, it was hard to imagine exactly how long it would take to flatten the curve.
Well, four months later and our country slowly beginning to open, it has been heartbreaking to reflect of the tremendous blow to our economy and most especially the local businesses that make neighbourhoods interesting and thrive. Moreover the challenges of schooling the kids from home whilst attempting to remain productive with your own work, postponed weddings and a myriad of social and sports events cancelled have made 2020 a year that I do not want to see repeated in my lifetime.
Having said that, and being the kind of ‘glass half full’ gal, I look back and reflect on some of the good things that came out of quarantine. Yes… I did say ‘good’ and ‘quarantine’ in the same sentence!
Let’s talk about the obvious: screen time. Though I have never been one to plunk down in front of the TV/screen daily and watch for hours, being in lockdown had this as an option to pepper in some variety for the daily routine in the colder months.
Some of my favourites:
Unorthodox (Netflix) is a compelling miniseries a young woman fleeing a closed Hasidic Jewish community for a new life in secular Berlin. Beautifully done, my only regret is that there are only four episodes.
The English Game (Netflix) is a British historical miniseries about the origins of modern football ( soccer) in England. Not that I can say I have ever been a massive fan of soccer, the telling of its evolution in the late 1800’s is superbly done.
Based on the weekly column in the New York Times, I have enjoyed listening to the Modern Love podcasts on my morning runs. I was delighted to discover the series on Amazon Prime Video. An anthology of discovering love in a myriad of forms set in New York city, the stories are brilliantly done.
And then from the screen to print. Aside from book club choices, though always excellent and diverse range, it was nice to go off plan and discover books that may or may not have made it to our annual Book Club roster:
American Dirt by Jeanine Cumins is a riveting telling of a young Mexican woman and her son’s harrowing flight from Mexico to the United States. Though there is a lot of debate regarding this book as to the stereotyping and cultural inaccuracies, I found it timely and could not put it down.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett is a delicate family drama that presents a compelling story that explores the powerful bond to place, family, love and loss. Beautifully written, I simply loved it.
Naturally, being housebound and far too close to the kitchen, I did make a foray into new culinary experimentation. Sadly, I did not partake in the sour dough bread trend that everyone seemed to be on, but I did give homemade bagels a whirl.
Being a self professed carbaholic, all things bread are other worldly to me. ( and gosh… the smell of it baking: Heavenly!!). Though with few ingredients, the multi-step process had always put me off. It’s funny how being in lockdown changes your perspective. I can’t say that I would make these on a weekly basis, but as an ultimate morning indulgence they are rather fabulous.
Old, almost forgotten crafting played a part of lockdown. I honestly cannot remember the last time I actually did any kind of embroidery work, but given that a bit more time was being spent in front of the screen, I needed to keep busy.
Repurposing old, yet boring, linen napkins gave them new life and I have to say, despite the less than stellar stitching talents, I found this to be a very soothing past time.
Oh and hello my dear back yard. Yes… those gardens that every spring I start with dedication and love, to be forgotten for other pursuits and thus allowed to perish in the blistering July heat. This spring and early summer changed all that!
How miraculous what a bit of daily attention ( read: actually watering ) will yield! Vegetable gardens with promise, roses of exquisite colours and a bird feeder with a flurry of visitors from sunrise to sunset. I cannot remember ever having a garden so lush, and one to give me such peace at the end of a very busy day.
Covid-19, you continue to be a beast around the world. Causing millions to be ill or perish, your exit from 2020 cannot happen soon enough. The required lockdown and self-isolation has made many stir crazy yearning for human contact and general freedom of movement. You did however make us more creative with our virtual meetings, book clubs and Happy Hours and made me dig deep to fill my time with pursuits that may otherwise not have gotten a second thought.
The world became a whole lot slower and though not in the manner that any one of us would ever want, perhaps that was a good thing so that we could appreciate time and our blessings on so many levels.
Keep well my friends!
xo – Sandra
