I think I have reached an age where I can justify an afternoon nap. Because of the reconfigured muscle behind my left leg due to the melanoma operation I get tired if I stand too much so I take an afternoon nap fairly regularly. This is ideal in winter when snuggling under a rug feels good and the bleak wind blowing outside makes having a nap under a rug seem like a good use of time. Today is Friday so housework, catching up on phone calls, maybe a bit of gardening and an afternoon nap to top it off seems like a good idea. In summer I always feel I should be doing something with all that lovely daylight but in winter I just do what I can.

We are in another Covid-19 period. States are closing down again. The State of Victoria and my own State of New South Wales are particularly affected at the moment. Nowhere close to me thank goodness. But with people moving around in the last days if the school holidays that could change. Our lovely Central Coast has always been a draw card for  visitors escaping from Sydney. I don't blame them because in the late 50s we came to the Coast following friends who had settled here. I guess there are waves of settlers from the city who deserve to come here but the peace and tranquility seems to have been replaced by modernisation with all its problems.

I enjoyed having Alice and Trevor here for a week, the first week of the winter school holidays. Of course it was not beach weather but Trevor took Alice to her favourite beach and of course Alice  still went in the water, provisionally to get a bucket of water to fill her sand castle moat of course. There was a small carnival at The Entrance and we spent an afternoon there, watching her enjoy the rides. My grandchildren from South Australia weren't allowed interstate but we had Shirley and kids down on Sunday and went to lunch with Aunty Pamela on Wednesday. That is about as exciting as it got but they enjoyed the break from the stark red soil of Broken Hill. For  Trevor meeting up with a couple of his friends with their wives and children after six years was the highlight of his stay.

Some of our grey nomads managed to go to Queensland while the border was briefly open so I expect some of my friends will be posting their blue sky photos on their Facebook pages to the envy of those of us that don't have the opportunity to do the same. I feel very earth bound at the moment. I had won a trip down to Canberra for two in a slogan contest last year, three days at the end of September and was to take my grand daughter Naomi with me. I got notified on Monday that due to Covid etc the trip has been cancelled. I admit for a couple of days I was in low spirits, I had been so looking forward to that trip particularly the Tulip Festival in the Commonwealth Gardens which is a wonderful sight. Just being away from home with the end of the shut down maybe in sight was something worthy of my thoughts. Now that is at an end.

So where does dreaming come in? I remember a Bible verse from my Sunday school days : " Your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams." And I think this applies to my life now. It may seem as if that last good chapter of life as we know it has closed and there is nothing good in our foreseeable future, but that is never true. Life will go on. Mundane for now but there may still be good times ahead. I had a dream last night that I was out in a boat skimming along a river, I often did that when we lived in Karuah as Ray would take me out when he went to speak to his oyster farmers. I felt the sun on my face and the wind in my hair. It was a good feeling and one I would like to have again one day. We must go on planning and dreaming and one day maybe some of those dreams will come true.

But we have been here before haven't we? Misfortune comes in so many forms and somehow those of us who are older manage to muddle through. My mother used to tell us kids her tales of deprivation during the Second World War, she was in an outer suburb of London during the Blitz. She lived with her mother-in-law as her flat had been confiscated. She worked in a munitions factory by day and rolled bandages for the Red Cross at night. Some of her stories of bombing raids killing friends or distant family were sad but she always said: " It could have been worse. We survived didn't we?". And we will survive this too. So keep cheerful. Keep going. And if all else fails have a nap.