How I’m Still Just About Surviving Lockdown
Collaborative post
Where are we now with this lockdown business? Week 12 maybe? Could be longer, could be shorter – not completely sure what day it is let alone what week it is, but it’s certainly been a while now.
I last wrote about what I had been up to back in week five and the ways in which we were surviving lockdown, which feels like an absolute eternity ago. Back then things seem to have been going generally OK, but since then I’d say things have definitely gone downhill somewhat. For a few weeks now it’s felt like I needed something to look forward to maybe – something to cling onto. Like something was missing, but I wasn’t sure exactly what.
I can probably quite confidently say that the past month has been the worst I can remember – surviving lockdown is not as easy as first expected perhaps. There have been a few stinkers over the years but May 2020 was pretty awful and June seems keen to continue in the same spirit. Not content with being stuck indoors in a global pandemic, we’ve had some pretty major family health disasters of late, which I can’t see us getting over anytime soon. It’s been pretty rough.
To help keep our heads above water emotionally we’ve been trying to rediscover some things we enjoy where possible.
Sarah has really got back into reading books lately, which she hadn’t found time to do for a while, so that has been good for her. I’m still getting some fun out of the Xbox and have been trying to get out for some evening strolls to help clear my head a bit. Oh, and I’ve continued trying to get some DIY done – knocked a wall down last week and dug up some concrete floor today, so that’s been…fun.
I’ve also been lucky enough to meet up with two of my good mates – Maddy and Fran – for a chat and a stroll. Zoom chats are fun, but seeing people in real life is so much better! As lockdown has eased a bit we’ve also seen a bit more of our families recently, which has been really nice, albeit not always in the best of circumstances.
We’ve watched a couple of films lately on the projector for a bit of escapism, even if one of the films was about the Boston Marathon bombings. Not exactly cheer inducing!
We’ve also been a bit more varied in our food and drink choices of late – after all pasta and sauce does get boring pretty quickly. Our local chippy reopened recently so we’ve been there a couple of times, along with having some of our favourites like fajitas, roast dinners and salmon pasta. Sarah has also made a few cakes, which always tend to make everything feel a bit better!
We’ve also rediscovered our love of cheese and crackers, although my waistline probably won’t thank me for it. It turns out that at 41 I have finally discovered my favourite cheese – brie with chilli. Where have you been all my life?
To accompany our evenings of excess cheese, we’ve also been experimenting with a few different cocktails and some lovely wines from Independent Wine to make everything feel a bit classier. Can’t beat a nice Long Island Ice Tea or a lovely sparkling rose, like the Francone Sparkling Valsellere Rose Brut, which is chilling nicely as I type. With foreign travel out of the question at the moment, at least we can start to take a virtual wine tour of Italy over the coming weeks!
It’s such a tough time at the moment, but I think it’s really important to try to make the most of the small things. Find something you enjoy, however little, and do it – surviving lockdown isn’t easy but doing a few little things you enjoy really helps.
Hopefully with another batch of decent weather just around the corner we can all start enjoying our gardens again in the evenings. Life is so much better with good company, good food and a nice glass of something alcoholic…
How have you been surviving lockdown so far?