Read the rest of my Corona Lockdown diaries here.
Today it is, somewhat amazingly, 100 days since lockdown was imposed.
Some days it feels like forever, but even so, seeing that written down is quite something.
100 days in lockdown.
100 days since the kids were at school, 100 days since I last went into a shop other than the supermarket, more than 100 days since I last went to the pub, bloody forever since I last had my eyebrows done. Urgh.
I don’t advise doing it, but a quick glance at social media where the #100days hashtag is trending brings up a lot of people talking about what they’ve achieved over the 100 days; starting a business, losing a stone, writing a book, learning new skills, running a marathon, finishing their house renovation, doing a PhD in theoretical physics…
Here are my #100days lockdown achievements:
- I’ve put on a few excess pounds. At least it wasn’t more, right?
- I’ve wasted a lot of time on the internet. I’ve basically completed social media.
- I’ve made and drunk a lot of cocktails. This could be connected to the first point.
- I’ve wasted about £30 on seeds and compost which have so far amounted to fuck all but it felt wholesome while I was doing it.
- I’ve kept my kids alive and fairly happy, and they’ve done a bit of schoolwork mainly thanks my husband who I haven’t yet buried under the patio, possibly my biggest achievement of them all.
Not a lot, really. After all, I could have taken the time to do the DIY I’ve been sitting on for years, or start that book I’ve always said I’d write eventually but between us I will never actually get around to doing.
Some might say it’s been a bit of a waste.
They might, but not to my face, because I would take the opportunity to tell them how wrong they were.
This lockdown was not imposed so that we could all work on becoming better. It wasn’t some kind of sabbatical we were given by the government to go off and find ourselves. The purpose of lockdown was to keep people safe and stop people from dying.
And, as long as you’ve done the best you can do to stick to the (albeit often contradictory) rules and not spread COVID-19 around like a bellend/political adviser, then that is absolutely fine.
My house is still a bit of a shithole. It’s had kids in it, pretty much all day, every day, for ONE HUNDRED DAYS. How could it not be? I have not baked a single cake or loaf of banana bread. I haven’t expanded my mind, unless binge-watching Netflix series counts. I barely got out of bed some days.
Don’t be tempted to look at those posts and feel like you’ve wasted 100 days.
It’s fantastic for those people, well done etc (except the braggy ones, they can fuck off*) – but especially to those of us that have been at home with their kids all day, every day, just know that is is OK to have just existed for 100 days, and tried to cope in the weirdest and unpredictable situation most of us will ever know. It is already more than enough.
*Like this guy. Don’t be this guy ffs.
