Staying in

Yesterday we went up to Manchester to see our youngest daughter - a regular enough occurrence in normal circumstances, but things are far from normal at the moment. We should have been going next weekend, for Mother's Day, but as coronavirus tightens its grip, we didn't think it wise to delay.

From now we're starting to self-isolate, even if it's not strictly necessary yet. My husband has heart and breathing problems which, while not limiting in themselves, could make affects of the virus worse, so we're going to be following the advice given to the slightly older 70 plus age group.

Not everyone can make this choice, but we're lucky in being already 'early retired', so our income won't change, and in having a garden and allotment (which is generally quiet) to get out into and be busy. For now, I have daffodils to admire, and they'll be followed by tulips, lilacs, and roses as spring moves on, and there are always weeds to pull out!

It's frustrating as I'd been starting to get my life back on track after the last couple of dreadful years. I'd had great plans of what I would do this year; places I'd go, holidays I'd take, and I'd even got a festival booked. Now everything is on hold again, but safe is better than sorry. Advice at the moment is that going for a walk is fine, so we might try to head out somewhere quiet - a midweek country walk or similar, maybe just a drive to a viewpoint with perhaps a picnic eaten in the safety of the car. I thought I'd tried the ultimate staycation before when my parents were ill - this will be even MORE of a challenge.

Being apart from my daughters will be the hardest thing, but I can still video chat with them (thank goodness for modern technology) and we're working on ways to meet, at a discrete distance.