We are settling into our new normal. Whatever that is. Some days feel no different from the old days, the sun shines, we play cricket in the driveway, take the dog for a walk, clean the house and prepare meals. Other days things are just plain weird. Cannot pop into the newsagent to buy a birthday card or into the shops to peruse the toy section for my granddaughter’s upcoming first birthday. Cannot check out what looks fresh in the greengrocer and decide what to cook from that – everything has to be planned in advance and a detailed shopping list given to our “designated shopper” – no deviations allowed! We cannot see our little grandson except via video link, this is the longest we have gone without seeing him since he was born and we miss the other arm of our family who are seeing out this time of isolation in Sydney. But we thank the universe that we are all safe, that everyone still has a job and we have the technology to stay in touch the best way we can for the moment. These times are not tough. Tough was life in concentration or prisoner of war camps. Tough was life in the depression. Tough was signing up for the war in 1914 little knowing what you were going to have to face. Tough is working 20 hours a day in a hospital overflowing with people who are close to death and not being able to do anything to help. Tough is having your parents die of Covid19 and not being able to be there with them and hold their hands and tell them you love them. That’s tough.

So despite the fact that things are certainly not ‘tough’ here in The Meadow, we have found we need things to plan and look forward to apart from what we are going to eat for dinner every day. We had Easter to kick things off and a certain little baby girl’s 1st Easter egg hunt to organise! Her Mum did a grand job of hiding eggs all around the garden and leaving a bright shiny trail in full sight for Myla. She got the idea very quickly and had her eye on the prize – a big Humpty Dumpty egg – from 50 feet away!

We made the most of the beautiful sunny day, playing Boules, eating outdoors and finishing up the day with a big bonfire. It was a good day.

One of the most common lockdown issues has been what to do with our hair. As the weeks go by the styles become more unruly and the colour becomes much more ‘natural’. A lot less blondes and brunettes are walking around I imagine as the true colour starts to emerge from our previous six weekly meticulously coloured and cut coiffures. Grey is definitely the new black and for lots of us who had been unsure when to embrace our salt and pepper reality this has been a good trial. Will we go with it bravely or be the first to book an appointment at the hairdresser once this is all over? Time will tell…

In the meantime the boys of the household decided to take matters in to their own hands. A hair cutting kit was purchased along with the groceries and a makeshift salon was created in the garage. Our first fearless customer was the MOTH who in a rash moment decided to go the whole hog and shave down Bruce Willis style. The reality of that first strip of smooth head was enough to send both the Stylist and the Client into fits of laughter as he realised what he’d done!!

Then Tom (or Raoul as we prefer to call him when he’s in the salon) had a little play and decided to cut a cheeky rats tail into his unsuspecting Client’s hair…

Needless to say it didn’t last once Bruce Willis caught sight of it however it must have played on Raoul’s mind as a couple of days later after a solid few hours of Friday night drinks and after the rest of the household had gone to sleep he took up his trusty tools and created the kind of hairstyle you can only have during a lockdown in a global pandemic……to be fair it doesn’t look TOO awful from the front but from the side and the back it’s feral. Raoul oscillates between feeling quite smug about his new look and covering it up with a beanie or baseball cap!!

In between these shenanigans Lauren (who had not been well for over a week) had a tele-health appointment with the local GP and ended up at the local Covid Clinic being tested for Rona. She was advised that until her results came in she should completely isolate from the rest of the family despite us all living together so off to the caravan she went. With a baby who she is still breastfeeding, that was quite a wrench but it was also a blessing as she could get some proper rest. Three days later we got a call to say she was negative and she was reunited with Myla although she still isn’t 100% and neither am I to be honest. We must be suffering from a change of season cold/virus typical of this time of year. Goodness knows how I could have got anything as I haven’t been anywhere for 4 weeks but such is the ingenuity of a virus that nowhere is safe!

As Tom had purchased a poker set the idea was formed to hold a Casino Royale night. Lauren created a beautiful cocktail corner and we all dressed up in our finery, threw in our $25 per head for the lucky winner and got stuck into it! I really enjoyed it despite having no prior experience of the game and it was fun to have a themed night with no pressure to do anything other than raid each others wardrobe and make a bit of an effort.

Miss Myla celebrated her last week of babyhood by enjoying the edible finger paints her Mum made for her to play with. As anticipated it was a messy affair but she seemed to love it. I can’t say that we have a Picasso in our midst but she did get the idea that the gooey colourful stuff was meant to go on the paper at least! A bath in the laundry tub in the sun rounded out the afternoon and I’m sure it won’t be long until my fridge proudly bears the baby artworks that all grandparents seem to have displayed!

So life continues on and we can sometimes forget what is going on in the outside world. Until I speak to my family in the UK that is, they have things so much worse than Australia and very sadly my sister has a friend who lost both of her parents to C19 and several more who are unwell. Luckily my Mum and her small over 55s complex are all well and I have everything crossed that things remain that way. In the meantime we stay isolated in the hope that we can avoid the dire situation playing out in Europe and America and it is worth every bit of inconvenience and boredom that people may be feeling to ensure we do. Patience people, patience…..