As lockdown continues

The past three months have felt like a lifetime. It’s been a very difficult time for many, some stuck in SA, France, Spain, Ireland and other places without an income. Others stuck here desperate to get home to their families and their flights just keep being cancelled.

 A lot of us have been working the whole of shutdown with one client which has been quite stressful. It has also been very upsetting for some carers whose jobs have been cancelled because families have been protecting their parents wanting to keep the one carer throughout this frightening time.

It has been great to be able to share some of our worries and fears with each other through carer chats. Once more we’ve come together to try and help in one way or another.

I have been particularly sad hearing that some have lost a member of their family and haven’t been allowed into the hospital or not been able to get a flight home to say their farewells. That has created even more emptiness in these trying times.

What have you been doing differently to keep yourself sane during this different chapter that we’re dealing with?

I mentioned in my last post that I am doing a course on the alkaline diet thinking that it would just be an introduction to another way of eating – I certainly didn’t expect to be instructed to start walking 10 000 steps per day for the following three weeks as part of the course. I’ve become so absorbed with it and have incorporated this into my daily life now for the past 8 weeks. I have walked 236 miles since starting which is much further than my car has travelled over the past 2 months! Plus I’ve lost 6kg which I’m pleased about. I have been on a plateau for about 4 weeks but am happy with that because being the good carer that I am, I have to taste the scones, rice puddings and ice creams to make sure they’re ok for my client!

Its been interesting and most of the time fun. Every morning I do a thirty minute ‘walk-at-home’ work-out which is good for my 72- year-old body. This constitutes approximately 4000 steps so it’s a pretty good start to the day.

When we had our week of summer I pottered in the garden a lot watering and starting my little vegetable patch. It was great fun until that fateful morning that I discovered half of the beans and all the leaves from one strawberry plant had been eaten by the ‘darling’ muntjacs! I’ve now had to put a netting wall around it all and what’s left is growing nicely. I’m particularly pleased with my gem squash plants which have now got yellow flowers starting to bloom. I would love to hear about your little gardens too.

Most afternoons I’ve been going for a walk around the little town taking photos along the way and saying hello to all the robins that cross my path. Most other people are respecting the social distancing and it has been amazing how many people greet each other now. Some days I’ve taken the car for a short drive just to run the engine and move those wheels around. I’ve incorporated some lovely walks and seen a little bit of the surrounding countryside.

I also go for a walk with my client when he feels energetic enough. He’s 94 and can still walk quite a distance before the knees start aching and we need to turn back.

I’m really pleased that I started this course when I did because it has helped me to fill in time and not feel so distanced from everyone.