This has been a strange old 15 months for me under Covid restrictions. Shielding for all of that time because of an underlying health condition has meant almost total isolation. In all that time shopping has been delivered to the house, courtesy of the local hypermarket, outings have been restricted to the occasional walk round the block and I have only made a handful of adventurous visits to the optician and dentist for check-ups when it was slightly safer to do so last summer. I have only seen my daughter on a handful of visits as she is effectively part of my "bubble" and I have had a rare outdoors encounter with the odd neighbour or two on my walks.
In the last week, this has begun to change. Now that I have had both Covid vaccines and, now that things generally are beginning to come back to some kind of normal, I have been nervously testing the water to see how things go for me. I have been to visit a friend and had afternoon tea in her garden. Then yesterday I resumed duties at our local food bank. My pilates instructor has emailed to say that she is resuming classes again and I've been asked to rejoin the rota at the local park information centre where I volunteer. The shift yesterday at the foodbank seemed very strange. I met up with loads of new as well as old faces, but noticed how I had almost lost the art of small talk, having been so much on my own. It took great concentration. I am sure I shan't be the only one in this position. Just another side-effect of the pandemic to add to all the mental health problems people are suffering.
Covid is here to stay for a very long time, if not for evermore, so we all need to get used to the new kind of normal. I am gradually getting bolder about how that will look for me. I am ready to leave my cage and try it out with the right kind of precautions. 2021 here I come.....
6 comments:
I'm finding it a bit overwhelming, I went out this afternoon with a friend to visit a garden and we both agreed we had forgotten how to go out, being ready on time, what to wear etc.
You are like a flower whose petals have been closed up for so long. Now the sun is shining and your petals are opening. I congratulate you for having had the resilience and self-discipline to make it through fifteen months of shielding.
I agree that small talk and socializing are not as natural and our comfort level in crowds may never be the same. After having both shots, I feel confident that if I do get the virus, it will be a lesser version of it. I'm OK with that. I'm still very careful, but am venturing out a bit more. It sounds like your life is returning to normalish.
I'm really glad you are taking small steps back towards a kind of normality. After that level of isolation, no wonder you feel nervous, but having had both shots, that wlll provide a high level of protection. I've got my second jab this afternoon! x
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I have followed you for many, many years, in another name. (That sounds so creepy!)
I had a long gap where I divorced, trained as a mental health nurse, then married again, and I mostly stayed off social media in that time (in particular, blogging sites).
Having bounced back after a pretty shocking 14 months (for all of us) with a different name and an odd need to reconnect with people, I empathise with your feelings.
The Covid pandemic has kept me very busy at work, too busy, lots of bustle, noise and interactions with people - I don't have the 'face-to-face communication' to get used to again, I have the 'back online, how the hell do I do this?' thing to get used to again! So many people seem to have disappeared.
So pleased I found your blog again :)
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