Isolation Day 118

I know the title says ‘isolation’ but, in reality, we have not really been isolated for a while now. We have been seeing our family and some of our friends in the garden for a good few weeks, so it feels a bit of a cheat to call our incarceration ‘isolation’. ‘Keeping our distance’ is more like it. We’re ‘zooming’ and having ‘path chats’ and inviting people to sit in the garden, and even the porch when the weather isn’t up to much. So, I can’t really say we’re properly isolated. In fact, one of my friends said to me the other day that our social life seems more active than hers – and she’s not even in the ‘shielding’ category.

So, we’re feeling blessed. And today in particular, as we hadn’t seen eldest son face-to-face for a little while and withdrawal symptoms were setting in, so a barbecue chez nous was just the ticket.

The sun shone all day and created just the right ambience. The garden played ball and set out its stall beautifully, gracefully mellowing to the hilarity of the children’s slide, the stilts stomping all over the lawn, and the game of Jenga (or Freddie’s version of it) tumbling down to much laughter.

The parasols went up, the chairs sprung to attention and the cushions plumped up ready for anyone who wanted to rest their weary limbs. We dusted off the barbecue, chilled the Prosecco and prepped everyone’s favourite foods. Nothing was left to chance and everything fell into place. It was fabulous.

There was a gentle ‘busyness’ to our afternoon, with John wielding all the equipment you need for a barbecue and presiding over the meat as it incinerated there. Well, actually, it was only the pork that was incinerated – everything else was perfect. Paul popping to the shops to buy fruit for the Pimms, before playing with Freddie; Lily and Harriet prepping the Pimms; Freddie swinging and swinging on the swing; and me, darting in and out of the house with salads, bread, chips, cutlery and rhubarb crumble. I was reminded of Alan and Janet Ahlberg’s ‘Peepo!’ today. Even though I was in it, I felt like I was watching our afternoon unfold. And it was good.

As always, at the end of the afternoon, we didn’t really want to let the family leave. We would have liked to have held onto them for so much longer, but Lily is fourteen and wanted meet to meet her mates, and Freddie is four and it would soon be bedtime. Reluctantly, we knew it was time for them to leave. It had been such a welcome interlude with Freddie running here, there and everywhere, rough and tumbling with Daddy, and Lily, so sophisticated, creating a Pimms for us all to drink – all so relaxed and so very familiar.

I just love that feeling of being among family or friends, not having to pretend at anything. We’re just us, and even a tease is a warm embrace.

Nothing else much, really, today – had a lovely Zoom coffee chat with fellow church members this morning but other than that, Mum has been conspicuous by her absence, not wanting to join in with the family at all; feeling kippered by the barbecue smoke, so opting to stay indoors; resisting every attempt to tempt her outside; feeling hungry in between the times when food was actually available; but watching from the side-lines and devouring any food that was offered – unless it was sausage which was clearly indigestible.

After the family left, John and I opted to stay outside and sit in the comfy chairs just chatting and watching the sun go down. We might have been helping the bottle of Prosecco go down too, but that’s another story. A perfect ending to a perfect day and perfect weekend, really. For once, we felt content. Alleluia.

We are lucky. We have had some very tough times in recent years but we still have a lot to be thankful for. We are thankful that we are shielded from the virus doing the rounds, which has claimed 21 lives in all settings and just one in a hospital setting as of yesterday. 650 people were infected, according to the government figures by five o’clock yesterday, too.

Keeping our fingers crossed that our current strategy of keeping our distance continues to pay off and we have more contented days like today. We are also willing all our friends and family time and space for contentment in this topsy-turvy world. Peace be with you and God bless.