Today started out warm, I was a bit hot in three quarter sleeves and light long pants but now there is a little chill setting in and the darkness outside at 5.30pm tells me winter is on her way. I will need to put a coat on Harry and soup for tea which seemed a bit excessive a couple of hours ago should fit the bill nicely.
The writers centre which sends me a weekly email set a challenge for people to write in 19 words how they feel about the pandemic and I wanted to do it, I've been tossing it over and over but 19 words is not enough.
I feel relieved because the stop on recruitment has allowed me to keep my job a little longer.
Grateful that government financial assistance for covid effected employees will make me a bit more financially comfortable for the next six months. Curious about how life will change in the long term. A little mystified about how the whole world can be different but I feel the same. I feel a small sense of accomplishment, too. My modified role at work has required me to learn a few new things, nothing complicated but new all the same and so I slowly add to the things I can do. Covid has been overwhelmingly positive for me and it is so unexpected that I wonder if I will one day look back incredulously at how naive I am right now.
Just occasionally I imagine what it would be like to be sick, really sick. So much about life feels unfinished and I can't imagine being ventilated in the knowledge I may never wake up. Not for a second do I believe it will happen to me but still, when I think about that, I am a little afraid.
I've spent the afternoon calling people to check in, catching up on blogs, reading my study materials and drinking coffee.
I have a pack of vegetarian rolls which I call sausage rolls but obviously they are not. They might be chickpea and onion. Anyways, I think I'll put some in the oven, invent a soup to go with them and potter a little then I can settle in to a night with the tv
I think I know how you feel Kylie. If it weren't for the nightly horror on the ABC showing what's happening elsewhere I would think something really great has happened to slow the world down. I do wonder if we will see the effects of the virus a lot closer to home......in which case I too will feel a bit naive, and maybe selfish and guilty too.
ReplyDeleteYes, guilt is another one. Why is it easy for me and so hard for some?
DeleteI am really happy to learn that you are getting some positives out of the virus. I hope they continue.
ReplyDeleteAnd vegetarian rolls and soup sounds pretty good. Very good.
It is definitely cooling down here - which makes me very happy.
Right now is my weather sweet spot. The soup was a clear out the freezer special and it was surprisingly good
DeleteI simply delete any message on whatsapp or facebook on the subject of the virus without reading it. I can do without all the overload.
ReplyDeleteProtecting your state of mind is smart and there's no loss from ignoring it because there's nothing we can do
DeleteI like this post very much, kylie. More, please!
ReplyDeleteHey Robert,
DeleteI can do that but what specifically do you like?
Wait, I get you now! Direct the "more please" to higher places ✝️
DeleteI do imagine some days what it must be like. the descriptions are graphic and scary. Did you plant anything or grow anything from seed this last summer? Ever? What would you like to grow from seed?
ReplyDeleteThere are lots of people seeing positives and making lots of money. However, your fortune is a little more heartening. It is good you had some positives from all of this.
I'm not really a grower.I tend to plant and forget. We usually get a lot of tomatoes come up from compost, I've had pumpkin the same way.
DeleteI also have chilli's, rosemary and lemongrass which were planted from pots and cutting of mint which is thriving. I would like parsley but it never seems to grow enough to harvest.
My positives in this will eventually come to their limits but by then I might have more options
There's much we don't know about the virus and it makes us worry and stress about it.
ReplyDeleteIt's a huge unknown, Red. It's hard not to stress about it at least some of the time
DeleteI think over time and as more data on the variant is known I will feel a little more relaxed about it, but I am worried that we are about to start socializing too soon and I don't want this isolation to be in vain.
ReplyDeleteYes, lifting restrictions needs to be timed right. Here in New South Wales we only had one new case today so I believe it's pretty safe.
DeleteCovid has been positive for us too. We have plenty of money coming in, plus some savings, and we're well used to pottering around the house rather than going to work. We're just spending even more time on our favourite activities.
ReplyDeleteBut I feel for all those millions of people who're suddenly without an income and quite distraught about the future. The self-employed in particular aren't getting nearly enough help from the government.
Yes, some people have been out of work here for over a month and the financial assistance hasn't yet rolled out completely. It's a long wait. Our overseas students get no help at all and huge numbers of them work in the hardest hit areas
DeleteThere's been a big rise in rough sleepers in London - many of them people who've lost their jobs and now can't afford any rent. Various charities are doing their best to help in the absence of any effective government intervention.
DeleteThats just awful and those people will now be caught in the homeless spiral
DeletePicking up the challenge because this is a challenging time. Keep moving Kylie.
ReplyDeleteKnowing this too shall pass. Keeping head above water, feet on the ground, life moves in its own direction.
Mark, it's great to see you! Yes, life unfolds around us and I think the sooner we understand our limited control the less energy we waste
Delete19 Word Challenge:
ReplyDelete"Nineteen words is not nearly enough to explain how I feel about the pandemic so I shall opt out." (19 words exactly)
Well done! I like that you were so precise 😊
DeleteI don't think I need 19 words. Fear. Depression. A pivotal moment in our lives we will never forget marked by loss, change and hope.
ReplyDeleteThat's succinct!
DeleteI think I'm a little in disbelief in that it hasn't really affected me so far (and long may it last). Not being able to go into the mountains bothers me but if that is the extent of my "bother" I actually feel guilty, when so many others are suffering.
ReplyDeleteYes, it hasn't impacted me a whole lot, either. I don't feel guilty, though :)
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ReplyDeleteFor the 19 words, start with a poem, that would be more succinct and condense your thoughts.
Those sausage rolls sound so good!!
XO
WWW
I did try to start with a poem but just wasn't feeling it! and yes, the sausage rolls are excellent, comforting in the cold weather and with the whole isolation thing happening
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