Home alone
This is my Covid-19, so far so good, update.
This is Autumn, daylight saving is over. We are going through a wet period. Okay we needed the rain, in our part of the country rain comes west to east or down the coast from the tropics, we seem to be having both. Our inland and coastal areas that suffered the bushfire damage need the rain so I can't complain about it. But it does eliminate sitting in the sun on the front verandah from my daily activities. The farmers need the rain to grow the produce we depend on so I can't complain etc. I want to complain. Coved-19 is affecting my life, all our lives and we are not supposed to complain? Really?
We are pretty good in Australia, we practice self isolation, people go by walking the dog, people exercise though I am a bit dubious about some of the categories, we all do essential shopping etc. But I was in a supermarket and a young man came so close to me that he brushed my arm as he walked with his mobile phone to his ear. The old are taking it very seriously after all we are the target group, the young seem to think it is a bit of a joke. But we are keeping up with the bulletins coming every day from the government on our progress and social distancing laws are being policed. And on the whole we don't complain.
But on a personal level I am running out of things I WANT to do. Okay I could polish the furniture, clean the windows and spot clean the carpets BUT I don't find that fun. I am reading, crafting etc but I have been doing that for four weeks now minus my hospital time. So I might do an online course or start some vast project I will never finish. Drastic moves need to be taken. But the government tells us we are all in this together. And after making this announcement they go home to their wives or partners and their families. Bah humbug.
I miss my friends, my Lions Club events, my children and grandchildren. Easter will come and go without the usual religious observances. I miss my gang that meet beside Muffin Break, the conversation, the comradely jokes, the feeling of belonging. I miss the people I go out to see who belong to the church and the lady I pick up on Sundays. She misses me too. Church is closed at the request of the Bishop and we have also had to discontinue the pastoral care aspect of the church that cares about people. No Playtime, no Coffee Mornings, no Bible study. So no Christian fellowship. I really miss that.
Trevor and Alice can not come down for the first week of the school holidays because of the 200km rule and 200 kms from Broken Hill is still semi desert so they are stuck where they are. Alice loves to come down to the green grass she can lie on, the sea she can swim in and the many parks and lakeside walks that are a total contrast to the semi desert dry and dusty countryside she experiences every day. I will miss out on Trevor doing the odd jobs I alway line up for him to do. I know some of them will be fine until next visit,whenever that might be. But I can't do them myself now.
A week ago I went up to weed under the orange tree. For the first time in years it has fruit on it and I wanted to clean under it and fertilise it. I backed down the bank with my armful of weeds , felt my right foot move downwards and followed it over the retaining wall. I fell five feet into pavers. I won't tell you the mess I was in but I went to hospital by ambulance and after a series of X-rays had six stitches in the wound. Due to the build up of Covid-19 panic I was then sent home. So back to the self isolating with a patch on my head and special shampoo to wash my hair. I am used to head wounds so only found sleeping uncomfortable. Bah humbug.
This is a whinge not a pity party. I am not allowed to have a pity party with so many people worse off than I am. I live alone. I have no-one to look after, I have a roof over my head and food on the table. I have friends out there who think of me occasionally, as I do them. And from time to time my family remember me and ring me. I guess the crux of the matter is I am alone.
For the duration, however long that turns out to be, I am alone.
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