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Before the virus changed everything I used to wake up before 6, walk my dog, read the paper & drive to the seniors gym class at Sydney University Sports centre. I was busy with writing, looking at art, family, friends, children & grandchildren.
Now, life is slow. There’s no need to get up early, because there’s no gym class. So I sleep in until my dog wakes me. Art galleries are closed. Until last week I could only see my grandchildren via FaceTime. Until last week even the local bookshop was closed.
It is so easy to drift through the day, doing very little except listen to the radio, following Twitter, obsessing about the news as the full catastrophe unfolds around the world. Even though I have streaming services on TV, I usually end up watching the news.
However, twice a week Carmel who used to teach us in the gym runs a Zoom class from her living room. I look into my friends’ living rooms. We lift weights that are tomato tins, milk cartons or books. The classes keep me fit, but more importantly they serve as a reminder that there is a world out there. The class was made possible because one of the class members has a Zoom account for their work, so has made it available for all. We each pay what we think is right, and what we can afford.
I’m currently walking my dog to the audio book of Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year. I can’t help thinking how lucky we are to have this pandemic in the age of the internet, where it is possible to bring a gym class into my study and not be alone.
Now, life is slow. There’s no need to get up early, because there’s no gym class. So I sleep in until my dog wakes me. Art galleries are closed. Until last week I could only see my grandchildren via FaceTime. Until last week even the local bookshop was closed.
It is so easy to drift through the day, doing very little except listen to the radio, following Twitter, obsessing about the news as the full catastrophe unfolds around the world. Even though I have streaming services on TV, I usually end up watching the news.
However, twice a week Carmel who used to teach us in the gym runs a Zoom class from her living room. I look into my friends’ living rooms. We lift weights that are tomato tins, milk cartons or books. The classes keep me fit, but more importantly they serve as a reminder that there is a world out there. The class was made possible because one of the class members has a Zoom account for their work, so has made it available for all. We each pay what we think is right, and what we can afford.
I’m currently walking my dog to the audio book of Daniel Defoe’s Journal of the Plague Year. I can’t help thinking how lucky we are to have this pandemic in the age of the internet, where it is possible to bring a gym class into my study and not be alone.