Almost exactly a year ago, I was sewing joey bags for animals injured in the Australian fires. Oddly, that seems a very long time ago. The first lockdown of the pandemic began in March of 2020. Looking back on it, those seemed like dark days as we tried to understand what all the information being thrown at us meant. That lockdown started March 17, and it was taken very seriously. Driving into town to pick up my grocery order at the end of March was like driving through a ghost town. And that too, was something quite foreign–not going into a store to get my groceries. We didn’t go anywhere. Doctor’s appointments were arranged online and we quickly learned to navigate meetings, exercise classes and choir practices online. I sewed masks, scraped wallpaper, painted–I don’t find it hard to stay busy.
Things eased up during the summer months. We spent most of it beside the pool. We only attempted to camp once. With only outhouses available at the campsite, it was a gritty affair. But it did give us a chance to see family we’d been missing since winter. We gardened, I sprained my ankle, we swam, kayaked, had a wonderful cottage weekend with friends and family and I sewed more masks.
We got in another visit to family in the fall. We canned peaches and pears, filled the freezer with garden vegetables and crossed our fingers that we would need another lockdown. In late fall, our forever foster Toto came to live with us. He’s with us as long as his heart holds out.
We spent Christmas quietly, and cancelled plans to visit family before Christmas as we watched the COVID cases climb alarmingly. Christmas activities were limited to going to a tree farm to cut a tree with my daugher and son-in-law and touring local light displays. It was a small party over the Christmas turkey as we anticipated hunkering down a full lockdown was again put in place on December 26. It was then extended mid-January.
So here we are at the end of the second lockdown. We did a lot of work on the house; work that would probably have been spread over many months if not for the lockdown. We’ve learned a lot. We’ve learned to be very grateful to be in the situation we are in–not stressed about our income, food supply or the roof over our heads. We’re looking forward to a bit of freedom, but I’m still hesitant to go anywhere busy with people. I’m happy to continue carrying out food, ordering online and doing curbside pickup until we get what, at this point, feels like those coveted vaccines. I’m not sewing any more masks. And our fingers are crossed that we don’t need to go through another lockdown.
Every Day a Little Better 