We are coming out of lockdown!!
Richard G. Scott
“Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.”
This post is raw but heartfelt, so please forgive any stumbles.
My whole life, I think my greatest gift has been my ability to wait for what I want. My parents were fond of the phrase,
“Patience is a virtue.”
Never have I been more grateful that these words are so ingrained, than I have been during our lengthy but necessary lockdown.
Am I always patient?
Well no…
Have I been a ratbag at times through our confinement?
Absolutely.
The air has turned a distinct shade of blue round here, on more occasions than I am prepared to admit right now.
My chocolate consumption would keep Willy Wonka’s Ooompa Lumpa’s on permanent overtime. However as you all know, I watched the Covid situation in New York and my beloved London, unfold with horror. When our numbers had climbed to over seven hundred cases a day, I had started to feel raw, naked fear – especially when we had begun to hear the daily screech of ambulances.
I am proud that we looked the other way, when we were being actively encouraged in some quarters, to do the wrong thing.
Yet through it all most sensible people here, have accepted the need for restrictions to our lifestyle. Yes, people not wearing masks brings out the worst in me but overall we have complied. This has made me feel closer to my compatriots, than I have done at any time in the last two decades…
On the whole our normally rebellious Australian nature, has caused us to side with authority rather than to heed the calls to fight against it. One of Australia’s most famous songs, “Waltzing Matilda.“is about rebellion against those nasty British Redcoats. Yet people here have knuckled down in an effort to defeat an insidious and deadly enemy, no longer clearly visible and clad in vibrant scarlet jackets.
One of my youngsters has also told me a story about Australian soldiers asking for a relaxation in uniform standards, whilst they were unloading ships. The British had curtly refused to ease uniform requirements.
Yes you guessed it, when the Australians were checked on later, they were totally naked.
Slim Dusty https://www.youtube.com/user/slimdustytv
Wikipedia
I especially relate to this, since I have discovered we have an Australian convict cousin in the family.
Today we received the welcome news that our invisible enemy, has almost been vanquished. As with any fight, we are all battle-scarred – We may also have developed an unhealthy attachment to toilet paper and an almost religious observance of 11am press conferences. Yet knowing that there are likely thousands of us alive today, who might have otherwise died alone in a hospital room, surrounded by masked faces, has more than compensated.
To all those facing further lockdowns, as the Northern Hemisphere Winter approaches, I would say,
“Yes lockdowns hurt.”
I think we are more equipped to be able to say that than most. (We have been in one of the longest lockdowns in the world There is some debate on this subject. At one point we were under strict curfew and barely allowed to leave home.) Yet the reward is priceless, as it may mean the difference between being unable to visit your loved ones for a few months (By the way I haven’t seen my own mother in four years.) and never seeing them again.
Please stay safe everybody.
I dedicate this post to my youngsters, who have faithfully struggled through lockdown with me.
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