We have been in Coronavirus lockdown for 13 months, and we are now both double-vaccinated, so with the easing of restrictions on April 12, we are getting ready not only to receive visitors in the garden, but also to set off on the first overnight boat jaunt for 18 months.
Lockdown has proved to be a stress-free, even enjoyable, experience, almost what I originally thought retirement would be. Of course we miss physical contact with family and friends, but the new practice of video-calls goes a long way towards compensating.
We have a daily routine: wake up at seven for one or more cups of tea in bed while we check out calendars, daily news, emails, and social media; then the morning hot-tub ( which is now installed in the “spa shed”. This is followed by the daily 20-30 minute walk on a circuit taking in the sea front, then morning coffee, and an hour or so of miscellaneous tasks before breakfast-lunch at noon.
For the past 6 months, I have been doing weekday speech therapy at 1pm for 30 minutes with my young brother Terry (69) who suffered a massive stroke a year ago. This has badly affected movement and control on his right hand side, and has also destroyed his ability to speak, apart from the very odd unpredictable moment. The speech improvement is happening, but very gradually and very slowly, and the overall process will be detailed elsewhere.
In the afternoons, we have “free time” for more jobs and hobbies. I am now into 18 months of learning to play the ukelele, another very slow process for me - but it is the journey, not the destination that counts! Usually, in the late afternoon, I take some time ( 45 minutes) for “music therapy”, when I drift off into a very pleasant meditative semi-consciousness in a darkened room. Then it’s time for a “cocktail hour” before dinner-tea, followed by an evening in front of the television watching films or short series. Bed again at eleven pm to catch up on internet stuff, with final lights out before midnight.
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