Diary Entries

At the beginning of the lockdown adventure I bought my mother 82 to stay at my place over the QLD border. Living in a retirement village with carers my concerns were her being alone with no access to family once the border closed. So very happily my home became her border refuge. Days became assistance in the shower,dressing,meals,mobilising now just part of the “average daily living”. While restrictions were in place there is no restrictions to the stories and precious time a mother and daughter have shared the simple conversation and for this we are grateful. We both celebrated a birthday 60 and 84 April and May and look forward to more fabulous celebrations together. Multiple games of dominoes,cards,chess and bingo. Family and friends received letters,phone calls and FaceTime kept us all in contact. Wine and cheese conversation sorting the fear and unknown. As restrictions are lifted we shall venture over the border crossing stillness. Moving forward COVID pandemic remains a possibility but we have smiles and soap to get us through and of course each other always.

COVID 19 has made me slow down, to appreciate the things that can be taken for granted in everyday life. Our home, my family, my work from home job during this crisis, and one of the biggest, my hobbies. I have not once been bored during isolation! I relish time to myself, as that is when I create. During the past few months I have done numerous sketches/drawings/paintings, made my first ever rag rug, written a laughable short story with illustrations, read books, gardened and walked a lot. I am the person that has learnt over the past 10 years that I can entertain myself without the need of television or technology. Yes, I have those available to me, but I can live quite easily without television (in fact it was turned on last for the boxing day test for my family!). Don't get me wrong here, the laptop and mobile have been wonderful in keeping me connected with family and friends over this period. Have I gone without? Only the physical social contact of loved ones. I did not starve, I did not go crazy, I did not get sick, I stayed home and went for long walks. So I reflect on this time as a period of personal growth, knowing that a quieter life doesn't equate to an emptier life. It's just different and actually far more fulfilling than leading a constantly busy social life, with no real meaning to it. I am grateful for living in Australia and in particular Adelaide. We have managed our way through this crisis as a team and hopefully as a country we can continue to step by step progress to the lifestyle, albeit a different one, that we will adapt to.

Isolation (By: Khaled Elasmar Poet at Bankstown poetry slam). My heart is a blue planet, Adorned by icy Mountains, A pale light, Shadows of past lives, Circles sround the frozen glacial lakes. While the blizzard whirlwind blasts my empty glassy castle. My heart is a blue planet, walking the expanse of white and blue, listening to the crystal rings of this faraway planet, crashing like waves in my ears, echoing voices I have loved and lost. My heart is a blue planet, Waiting for a missed signal to reach its shores; waiting for the sun to be warmer and brighter. My heart is a blue planet, And a million years of isolation separates our path, a million unsaid word, a million testimony of adoration waiting to be fulfilled through a glass darkly. My heart is a dark blue planet waiting for salvation and a rescue mission to stop its bleeding soul from surrendering to isolation.

I didn't get my usual seat on the train this morning. It's the first time that's happened in the weeks since the trains got quiet enough that I could have a usual seat. Still not enough people on it to take every row so I got a six seater to myself again. I don't know what I'll do when the carriage is too full to find a seat again. Work is still half empty, with only those rostered to work in the office here. I'm always here, my role essential and too customer based to work elsewhere. COVID isn't far from our minds - hard to be as health public servants - but our usual business is creeping back in. Today's first mention of 'the virus' was nothing more than coworkers idly chatting, not official talk. Lunch was weird. Place I buy from had a line and a large party dining i n. Haven't had to wait at all for a while. It's a little nerve racking to have people so close in public. I get to see my parents and brother this long weekend. Might actually hug them, for the first time in months – or at least touch them. Mum and I have had birthdays in the weeks of lockdown, and though we’ve seen each other in person since I’ve still not hugged her for it – or for Mother’s Day, the last time we met. I might not though. Will see what the risk feels like when I’m in their house. At least I can still hug the dogs.

2020 has been a roller coaster when we were in lock down I was board so I decided to play Roblox piggy . I played with my cousin we played all chapters . then we played on the electric bike my cousin fell on the concrete his head had a big cut so we put ice on it then we made popcorn and drinks and watched fgteev . and his dad gave me 100 dollars . i spent it on a card for robux it had 4000 robux for 20 dollas I got ten things and then i gave the rest of the robux he became happy .

My husband and I have taken to walking at 5am, a safe time to exercise as we come across only one or two other people, occasionally. These pre dawn hours of darkness hold many surprises; silence abruptly checked by a spontaneous yet orchestrated burst of frog song, the sudden sharp call of a hunting eagle or the strong flap of large wings as a bat startles from a tree directly overhead. A kookaburra, the bushman’s alarm clock, stridently asserts its right to call up the dawn. It is answered, distantly, and an absence of sound settles back in. Then there is the movement in the silence. A fox under a streetlight foraging beside the path, questing one way, then another, melting finally into long grasses, disappearing. A white rabbit also used the cover of darkness to escape its normal confines, an opportunity to explore. Silhouetted against the black road it sniffed the tyres of a parked car, investigated the length of the gutter and nibbled at a green lawn. With its soft tail bobbing behind the rabbit quietly hopped out of sight. Not all of the wonders on our walks are to be found at eye level. The darkness offers up other rare opportunities. As restrictions began to ease we became excited at spotting one or two planes again, their lights flashing rhythmically. We have seen a shooting star. The moon in all its phases rises and sets before our eyes; golden, cream coloured, a glowing white. The International Space Station has passed overhead and, on two occasions a long line of thirteen satellites, spaced equidistantly and travelling quickly has added to our sense of wonder. Exciting, joyful, special moments. Moments that mark the beginnings to our day.

It has been months now since I left the Police Force. I left them right before COVID started to control our lives, which in hindsight was a bad time to leave. I didn't have another job lined up and I had plenty of time at home to overthink my decision to leave. Was it the right decision? Was I overreacting to a few bad weeks? Could I not have powered through the tough times? Today things are looking up, I am now employed and will be at my induction in a few hours. I just hope it goes well and that the job will be more bearable then the PF.

Riverina NSW My home, my haven. Lockdown was a safe place amidst the chaos seen on the screen. It was family coming home to study uni online. The day to day on our farm ticked over unhindered. It was online shopping to avoid town. It was using up the pantry and giving myself the challenge to stay away from needing to go to town. It was the shock of how life and shopping for groceries had changed when I finally did venture out. The shock of how expensive cheap crappy toilet paper was when that was all that was available. The joy and tears when listening to the midday news to hear that 2 adults could now visit another household and being able to visit children and grandchildren so far away that I missed so desperately....that's when I realised that even an introvert needed to breakout after being in isolation and start to tentatively reconnect into this new normal.

Staying at home is way overrated. The first couple of days are really fun. It's a change, you do school at home - pretty cool right? And then it isn't cool. What can you do on the weekends other than watch Netflix? Is it still fun when the NFL, the Sydney Royal Easter show, and the Olympic games are cancelled? Not really. When I finish all my Netflix shows, what next? You go crazy, confined to your house. I try and go out at least once per day. It's a relief, being out of the house, breathing in the fresh air.

I was kind of happy and excited to go into iso. The thought of doing nothing, having no expectations to meet, no planning to do was not something to be afraid of. It was a time to reflect, take a breath, reconnect with yourself and immediate family.