Isolation Day 100

Crumbs! Who would have thought that Day 100 of isolation would be so great? We are still in lock down, but that doesn’t stop a baby being born, so we were over the moon today to hear that Michael and Danielle’s baby boy was born safe and sound this morning.

We always knew that June 24th was going to be the ‘birth’ day, as it was a planned operation, but nevertheless it was still a relief to hear the news. And we have been skipping through the day, all day today, like youngsters because we have been so happy.

Not only that, we got to see and hug Michael. When Michael phoned us, just after mid-day, he said, “I’m coming round.” That was when we first started skipping of course. John was so excited that he said, “I’m going to make a ‘cuddle curtain’.” He rigged up the washing line and hung an extremely large waterproof sheet from it. No armholes, but sufficient material to gather in and wrap your arms round someone on either side of it. It worked a treat. Couldn’t see Michael as we enveloped ourselves in the cuddle curtain, but we could feel him and at least give him a very big congratulatory squeeze. I thought I was the soppy one but it seems that John is too……

It’s funny isn’t it? How you get up in the morning, and think you are going to plan out your day, and then it turns out to be almost totally different? John had said to me last night, “What are you going to do tomorrow?” Well, I told him that I had planned to do some more gardening – there is lots still to do – and start to re-upholster the kitchen chairs and read my book in the swinging chair. “What about you?” I responded. He replied that he planned to cut the other conifer down first and would see after that.

We did do some of our plan this morning while we waited for news. We wanted to keep busy. I re-upholstered the seat of one of the chairs but haven’t got it screwed back together yet. John had a high old time cutting down the conifer, carefully placing the brash on the patio rather than the lawn. Then Michael said he was coming, and I promised to do lunch for him. We’ll sit at the patio table I said – him one end and us the other, like we did with Andrew. Oh….. there’s an awful lot of brash on the patio. I had a mad twenty minutes gathering it up and barrowing it down to the bottom of the garden to clear a space.

All a waste of time at that moment of the day though, as Michael came and we ate lunch and drank tea with him at a table in the middle of the lawn instead. I didn’t make his lunch either. He was so starving he’d grabbed a petrol station sandwich on the way. We chatted and cooed over pictures of Danielle and the baby until it was time for him to go.

Then Paul and Harriet said they’d call on us so that Freddie and William, who’s staying over at their house until Mummy and the baby come home, could have a run around the garden.

Naturally, we were delighted at the news that the children were coming to play but, oh crikey!!! There’s still a lot of wood shavings; and some brash; and a helluva lot of pine needles everywhere that are sharp and nasty for children who might be in bare feet. The first twenty minutes of work on clearing the area previously obviously wasn’t a waste of time then, but we did spend another twenty minutes of gathering up as much of the remaining debris as fast as we could.

John always has the right equipment for any job. “Hang on,” he said, “I’ll get the leaf blower.” The leaf blower is a leaf sucker too. So, he blew the debris into a corner for a bit, then spent a good five minutes going over the lawn, where we thought the children might play, sucking up as much conifer-related material as he could see. I had to laugh though. “John!” I said. He didn’t hear – too much of the sucking noise going on. “John!” I shouted. He turned, a little irritated – what does she want now – “The zip on the collection bag is open. Anything you’re sucking up is just being deposited behind you…..” We both saw the funny side of it…. and what seemed funnier is that we couldn’t actually see where the debris had been spread. Ah well, we’ll just have to tell the children to keep their shoes on then…..

Regrettably, we decided to take the ‘cuddle curtain’ down before the children came. I am sure it would have provided hours of enjoyment but I thought it would be seen as a piece of play equipment and it wasn’t safe enough for that. Now that we’ve got it sorted though, maybe we’ll set it up another day……….I mean, it would be churlish not to, wouldn’t it?

Seeing sons and daughters-in-law and children is always the very best thing in my book, and this visit was no different. Honestly, my heart is full. The kids had a great time charging round the garden, playing on the swinging chair, up and down the slide, in and out of the sand pit, playing ‘Tig’ and hide and seek, swinging on the swing and feeding the fish. I had a great time watching them. We had a great time watching them and chatting to them and feeding them biscuits. Even Mum joined in. We savoured our time with them and that, oh so precious, time with Paul and Harriet too. We are just so very blessed to have a beautiful family.

Later on, after our evening meal, happily exhausted but keen, it was time for our regular Quiz Night with the Centre Stage crew. Another good quiz and another enjoyable few hours together in the company of dear friends.

100 days we have been staying at home, keeping our distance and washing our hands (and everything else in sight), and there have been some highs and lows. But nothing compares, does it, to the thrill of new life?

May God bless us all – our family, our friends and acquaintances – and, of course, all those who are sick and dying whether from COVID-19 or not, and especially anyone known to us.

There were 4 deaths in hospitals yesterday up until five o’clock. 24 deaths were confirmed for the day before. 154 people died in all settings according to the government report for the same time period, and 653 were confirmed as having contracted the virus.

The first wave of infection is on the wane. Let’s pray that, as lockdown eases, people remember to keep themselves and their loved ones safe. We know what to do. Let’s just do it.

In the meantime, we are going to enjoy our beautiful new grandson from a distance.