Surviving in the Bubble - Week Three

April 17, 2020

Gosh, time has literally run away on me this last week…which is crazy as you’d think I’d have all the time in the world at the moment...

But I decided at the 11th hour to apply for a writing grant, so I had my work cut out for me to make yesterdays deadline. Anyway, apologies if you have been hanging out for my latest installment!

yum, chicken korma for dinner

Amanda and I have adjusted remarkably well and are settled into a daily rhythm. The simplicity of life has transported me back to those long drawn out days of my childhood. For those of you that don’t know, I grew up on a little dairy farm on the Hauraki Plains of the Waikato. It had a small village that is still not on most maps (if you drive through and blink, you would most likely miss it!).

And while I would not change my upbringing for the world, now, at the time I hated it and couldn’t wait to escape what I felt was a stifling parochial environment. As you can imagine there was a lot of wide open green space and I bored easily; as sometimes there was simply nothing to do.

Remember this was in an age and time way way before computers existed. As well our black & white television set had blown up so we were even without a TV for years.

As a result I spent a lot of time reading or playing outside or lying in grassy paddocks (avoiding the cow pats of course), watching the cloud formations in the sky and daydreaming about the future. More often than not my pet goat Emily would be sitting, practically on top of me, contentedly chewing my hair.

Fast forward to 2020 and 3 weeks into this lock-down and I am starting to feel that same sense of confinement. Having been a transient gypsy for most of my adult life, it is an odd feeling to have to stay in one place all the time which is not by choice.

Don’t get me wrong, I am quite enjoying the chance to re-charge and contemplate what I am going to do with my life moving forward, now that tourism has all but dried up (for the time being)…but if I delve deeper I realise the issue is more about a loss of freedom, that our ability to move around at will has been curtailed.

This makes me ponder how things will be once we move out of lock-down and back down the various levels to everyday life again. I wonder what lessons we will all take from this time? I’m curious about what memories young kids/teens will form when they look back on this period.

I have an enquiring, inquisitive mind and overactive imagination and rather like a good conspiracy theory. Perhaps this is not a good combination??!!

Naturally I have concerns for us a nation and as a human race about how this may change things? And what the future ramifications of Covid-19 will be on all of us?

Somehow I can’t help but feel that NZ’s bubble has finally burst.

A lot of people would describe us "kiwi's" as gullible. Perhaps we naively thought that all those terrible things that happened to other people and countries on this planet couldn't or wouldn't touch us. That we were lucky to live at the bottom of the world, safe and protected, miles away from the dramas in the northern hemisphere; full of it's crazy leaders, religious wars and pestilence.

Our bubble threatened to pop a year ago after that tragic event in Christchurch, when some prick decided to bring his hatred to our land. But I'm super proud that NZ presented a united front, rallied together and showed the global community that love can conquer all. But it did affect our collective psyche and made us realise that perhaps we were more vulnerable than we had first thought. You only have to look at how the world was affected after 9/11, so it will be interesting to see what transpires once this corona-virus settles down.

But I figure there is no point worrying about the “what ifs” and what I can’t control. Instead I wake up every day and give thanks that I am alive and am grateful for what I have. A roof over my head, food on the table and the love of family and good friends.

I know that this lock-down has been difficult for some people and for others it must be pure hell. But if I had the choice of being anywhere else in the world right now, then I can't tell you how happy I am that I can call NZ home.

Statistics show that we are in a pretty good place right now, compared to other lands and I think that NZ is really fortunate to have Jacinda Ardern at the helm. What an amazing leader, compassionate, calm and composed. I am full of admiration for her and what she has had to deal with in her time as Prime Minister.

Anyway enough of the heavy stuff…but if you fancy a read, you might find these two linked articles interesting.

https://theconversation.com/three-reasons-why-jacinda-arderns-coronavirus-response-has-been-a-masterclass-in-crisis-leadership-135541

https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief

There hasn’t been an awful lot to report on the home front, it’s a bit like that Bill Murray film, “Groundhog Day”.

But I’m happy to report that the sun has been shining most days and we have also had bit of much needed rain plus it is gradually getting cooler at night. It was a bit of a shock to discover snow on the hills the other morning, a reminder that winter is coming. So a big shout out to my dear friend Rachael's sister Cath for the loan of some needed warmer clothes!!!

snow on them thar hills

Hard to believe that we have now passed the 21 day mark. Don’t they say it takes three weeks to make or break a habit? I’d honestly have to say my new habits are bad...I have become way more addicted to my devices, which is causing me to sleep late and rise even later. Strangely, I haven’t heard any complaints about daylight savings ending this time around!!!

The culinary delights in the kitchen continue. This time we have a pumpkin loaf to munch on. I know, I know, I HATE pumpkin, but its more the taste and texture that I abhor. When it’s cooked with all the lovely spices, cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon, it is transformed, especially slathered with lots of butter!

Our click and collect grocery order also arrived, with some chocolate Easter egg treats and hot cross buns. Amanda’s highlight of the week was dyeing her hair. My new thing for the week was dyeing her hair. The walks continue and the other day Amanda and I cycled to Tahunanui for a walk on the beach and to collect shells and driftwood for her succulent garden. Amanda also stumbled across an interesting treasure, a decent sized piece of cloudy quartz.