No longer leukaemia…. but isolation, Day 31

Do you have a routine to your day now you’re in lock down? I must confess, I don’t. I’m a bit like a puppet with my strings cut. All over the place (what day is it, even?). Best intentions, of course, but not a lot executed. As darkly warned by my Spanish teacher as I failed to produce a piece of homework, the path to hell is paved with good intentions apparently.

As it happens, I did intend to find time for prayer today; chat to John; play a game of e-scrabble with friends; follow friends’/family’s stories and interact with them on social media; reply to emails; prepare food; be kind to my Mum; do some gardening; applaud the NHS/key workers this evening and watch Master Chef. I did all those things. But I seem to have a long list of other things I didn’t do – so perhaps tomorrow? Including hefting the hefty piece of wood into place in the flower bed by the plum tree – a job I thought we might do today.

But, you know, it doesn’t feel like the path to hell, just because I had good intentions that weren’t implemented. And that’s what is so interesting about this testing time – having the time to be and not just do and review some of those ingrained habits and beliefs. I wonder, are you, like me, welcoming the opportunity to take stock? Or are you still on the treadmill, enforced or otherwise?

Anyway, just so you know, I am going to have another at Mum’s hair tomorrow – well, I intend to anyway…… The curlers I ordered have arrived, and they look like they might not fall out at every opportunity as she moves her head, so we’ll see. I don’t think she’s that bothered about having her done to be honest, but we’re a bit fed up of looking at it as it’s not her best look just now.

She does make me laugh, though. She has never been one to drink much, but we have an ongoing battle every day to make her drink something at least. We take her a glass of water, “Here you are, Mum, drink your water.” “Thank you, yes, I will.” She doesn’t. We take her a cup of tea. “Here you are, Mum, drink your tea.” “Thank you, yes, I will.” She doesn’t. “Mum? You haven’t drunk your tea.” She replies, “I’m just drinking it.” And we fall about laughing.

But we did walk to the top of the egg-rolling hill in the garden today, to look at the abundance of blossom on my little cherry tree that Simon gave me when I left work. She made a bit of a meal of it today (unlike Easter Sunday when she was very egg-cited to be taking part in a little competition), but she made it.

No real rhyme or reason as to how she’ll be from day to day. But we are learning some patience. Even John supported her coming in from the garden this afternoon.

But there is rhyme and reason to the isolation, the ‘stay at home’ rule, the social distancing – it is working a bit. The figures are beginning to plateau with the numbers of COVID-19 infectees today at 4,618, and deaths at 861. With the government fearful of a spike in the virus if we don’t stay put, their advice is to continue as we are. Hold fast, everyone.