Day Four
DAY FOUR
Sunday and a day of connection. First the 9am meditation and a call to my sister, then our first online Quaker Meeting, an experiment with a certain irony because Quaker worship is mostly silent. Half a dozen of us pop into the screen and we sit in our separate homes, together. There is some insightful ministry (the thoughtful words shared among the periods of silence) and an enjoyable conversation afterwards. It's surprisingly satisfying.
Then I'm part of a family meeting online: four adults, two young boys, two babies, two countries, three cities. Again, satisfying. I've always been quite happy with phonecalls but I'm liking seeing faces.
In the afternoon, I'm invited to a cup of tea with a friend, she in her suburb and me in mine, just using the landline this time. We share some jokes, enjoying the kind of humour where someone just doesn't get it. I tell a blonde joke. Being blonde myself, I find them funnier than I probably should!
I talk with my daughter about how hard it is for her, a new mother emerging from the newborn stage ready to seek company and activities, to be so isolated at this time. We brainstorm some possiblities and also share our hope that somehow, when we emerge, the opportunity for a new normal will mean that it will have been worthwhile. We can see plenty of room for improvement in society.
Lockdown Chrysalis
What if we become a society where we smile at strangers in the street, while respecting personal space?
A society where we all had an hour's exercise daily in the fresh air and loved it...
Where we spent more time at home playing board games and cooking from scratch...
Where we were grateful for what we had instead of chasing what we want...
Where we could find more money for those who need it and houses for the homeless...
Where we often made time to call our parents and older friends to make sure they were well and not feeling alone...
Where the nation's well-being mattered more than the stockmarket or GDP...
Where we walked or biked or took the bus so that the streets were quiet and safe...
Where we really did have time to smell the roses...
What if, when we emerge, it's all been worthwhile?
My walk takes me through an eerily empty city centre and I return home through grey drizzle, a police siren adding to the unease.
At the end of the day I scroll through my phone. I know it's not good for sleep but quite the opposite happens: I read messages from my children and look at photos of the grandchildren and I fall asleep feeling love for them.