If week II was all about positive thoughts, I must admit week III was more difficult to handle. It was extremely busy at work and juggling that with home schooling and child entertaining really got to me.
By Friday I was so much looking forward to the weekend, which was, of course, not very eventful, but at least we could enjoy the sunny weather outdoors (by duly practising social distancing, of course).
In these last three weeks I have started to notice and appreciate the nature and its wonders even more than before. The blossoming of trees and spring flowers everywhere, and the noisy frogs in the nearby pond… It all became more apparent as corona made the world almost come to a standstill.
Among funny coronavirus quotes that I came across some time ago was also the one on how happy introverts will be staying at home. While this is in principle true, I can think of a number of not so positive effects that the semi-confinement has had on me so far.
Besides persistently tampering with my sanity, I’m starting to feel the effects of the lack of enough exercise and quickly put together meals, with less fresh vegetables and fruits than usual. I’ve also noticed a big increase in my coffee consumption, which I blame completely on our great coffee machine, of course.
Then there is the limited sun exposure and the lack of human contact that can have major effects on (mental) health. Admittedly things are quite different for those who do not have to work and are still guaranteed at least 80 per cent of their pay check. Or those single 😊
I’ve also been struggling with feeling guilty of using my first-born to baby-sit her sister, secretly hoping that the limited time she spent on her schoolwork would not have any impact on her future academic performance.
A courtesy email from the Swiss about our Easter trip to my home country has never arrived. I have not even received any response after having contacted them myself. While I appreciate their busyness, I really hope that the fairly big amount of money I paid for the tickets is not lost forever. I did have a small win on the transport front though. The SBB (Swiss national railways) at least acknowledged my letter of explanation concerning a fine I had received, reducing it by more than 50 per cent. The efforts were not in vain!
As we’re starting week IV, I am growing fonder and fonder of the Swedish model of dealing with the coronavirus situation and am keeping my fingers crossed that schools open after the Easter break. Hope dies last 🙂
And how was your week?
