7 months down the line…

So 7 months ago I was coming towards the end of my travels around Italy and Croatia…today as I write this 69,176 people in Italy have suffered from the novel Covid-19 virus (or the coronita as I call it) and 6,820 people have sadly lost their lives. Remember I’m only talking about Italy. A country which was the head of Europe in the Roman period, a country which thrives on social interaction and here we are in 2020 quarantined into our own homes.

Flying solo now has another meaning…what am I going to get up to over the next 3 weeks confined to the space of my own home. Thank the lord hallelujah for my housemate Chris, otherwise I think I would start talking to myself more than I already do. I decided before we were even told to stay at home that I would need a routine. If I don’t have a routine I will lose the plot. A lot has happened since returning from Italy personally, and I discovered that it’s important to make sure I find time for myself. So the first thing I did was write a timetable.

So I will talk you through Day 1 of official lock down, Tuesday 24th March. Woke up, had a shower, made some cinnamon swirls (the jus roll stuff – revolutionary) then 8.30 was the start of school work..School officially closed on Friday (it’s still open to keyworkers children, EHCP students and vulnerable students) so we are on a rota based system. Students have been set work, and so far some seem to be doing it! Bravo kids. I woke up yesterday and decided it would be wise to have alarms, like a school day to break up my day, alas by 5pm I decided this was tedious and just annoying, I think I can tell the time and stop if I need to. School work consisted of planning work for year 12 and future work for year 9 and 10 if required (most likely schools won’t reopen on 20th April). It was a fairly productive 2.5 hours until I discovered Tik Tok by which point I wanted to learn the hand challenge, I honestly think I lack co-ordination I cannot remember what to do with my hands for the life of me.

11 am brought on the start of the house activity – today was clean the front room and kitchen, one of those jobs which after a day at work you never want to do but once it’s done you feel so much better! Plus if I’m being confined to living quarters for the next couple of weeks a clean home is a relaxing home. An hour pause for lunch and managed to fit some painting by numbers in, so so therapeutic I highly recommend it! I also rang my gran. Bless her, at the age of 92 this social distancing is difficult for her, but thankfully she has a garden and the weather is improving so I think she managed a conversation over the wall with her next door neighbour! All she wants to do is go to Sainsbury’s 🤣🤣. Daily phone calls will continue to be the new norm for a while, although when she asks what do I know I won’t have much to say, although yesterday she had found out I had bought a bike 🧐🧐

Yes I’ve bought a bike. If BJ is allowing me out for some exercise I may aswell do it in style, I hate running at the best of times so a mix and match exercise regime will be delightful as long as it doesn’t rain. So my exercise regime was a 25 minute FIIT workout then a good walk down the old railway line with Chris. I actually felt relaxed it was crazy.

The day ended with a bath, some sizzling beef fajitas, a couple of G&Ts and we started watching Messiah. It was a different day but do I feel more relaxed – Yes. Do I think I can maintain this routine – I hope I can. What have I learnt – routine is key. I’m not going to bore you for the next 3 weeks on what I’ve been getting up to but I do have a few ideas of what to post about.

So look after yourselves kids! Stay safe and most importantly – stay at home