Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Loopy de loop loo

And on it goes. Another day to orbit the same wee sphere, around the wee house, around the garden, around the tele-health, around the meals, the snacks and the wine bottles, the games and around the bush track we go. Loop de loop de loop, all going slowly loopy.
I huff at a vehicle that races around the corner towards us. Who said the dirty fossil fuel burner could use my perfectly appointed two meter requisite physical distancing tarmac walking strip? Complete with a line down the middle to keep us all apart, designed for purpose?! How dare they drive down it at such reckless 30 or 40 km/hour abandon? Anyone would think it was a road or something. Not this month, sonny, not on my watch.  Loop de loopy.
Physical distancing on the bush track is less tarmac defined, some peeps launch themselves in the bushes at my invisible stealth viral cloud approach, some recklessly pat our recklessly unleashed dog, some turn and face away while covering their faces without touching their faces, not even an acknowledgement of my cheery hello. My suggestion of a round of spontaneous hide and seek doesn't receive a very enthusiastic audience. Boo! Sounds too much like Achoo? Loopy loop de loo.
Be careful what you wish for I remind myself of a week ago when I longed for a few quiet days at home. Or another self, a month ago when I decided I should give up shopping for  clothes for a year and wear what I've got in my bulging recycled ugly beautiful collection of cloth. Hindsight is the gift of the prophetic.
There are moments of joy though, throughout the feedback feedforward loop, like a spontaneous chat on the deck with a passing friend. A joke with a child. Another child who says he's totally perfectly happy and cannot ever fathom going back to school. The teenager who stays up late at night doing sit ups while listening to his podcasts. I have an hour long conversation about leveling up my bard DnD character with something, I don't know what he actually said as I just sat and marvelled at his knowledge and passion about something I don't get at all. I put together the tree to the right of Notre dame and my daughter spends about 3 hours piecing together a shades of green river. No one asks to go to Kmart or Jumparama and I am, eternally in the moment, grateful for the loop. Loop de loopy


Monday, March 30, 2020

Things what I learned over the weekend and a new measure - Time to C.I.L.L. (with a hard C)

I learned that the barrel went lower. There subterranean bunker system filled with barrels previously only suspected but available for further bottom scraping. Oh boy, I've heard of Pandora's box, this is isolation barrel opening down and down we go. The sludge of a lifetime awaits.
I learned that my war time response seems to be the oh, no the worlds turning to shit, oh no, everything is shit, oh no, I'm shit. Three easy steps to self despair. I've known for a while my bucket was pretty empty which is why I've made a few pre-virus changes in an attempt to stabilize my mental health.  Can I be? - NO. Can I be kind? - No. Can I be kind to everyone else? Pheeew, barely. Can I be kind to m-/NO. It's called pinning your entire self esteem on the quality of your interactions with other people. Less interactions, less you know what. 

At least the weather outside mirrored my learning as the rain pelted the windows and the temperature held its own pity party. 

Saturday I learned that sleeping in, doing some puzzle, making corn fritters and napping helped.

Sunday I employed the old binge yourself happier lesson learned on a previous barrel scraping. We were going to watch Frozen 2 but ended up doing Stranger Things with my ten year old daughter. Am sure they are very similar. The rain eased for a while to allow us to escape up the bush track and a few minutes at Notre Dame after dinner gave me a glimpse of the river side path and the still waters beside. Not looking forward to piecing together those leafy trees and blue skies.

Monday morning.  Normal non-routine. No school to worry about. Great.

By 9.37am, I've come up with a new measure of my day, something quantifiable, a goal I can really work on, graph progress and achieve in a specific measurable achievable realistic time- based way. It the number of minutes taken to go from waking up reasonable happy to C.I.L.L. - Covid Isolation Livid Level. Monday 30/3/20 - 97 mins.

  

Friday, March 27, 2020

Finding a new regime while scraping the bottom of the barrel for the elixir of life

Scraping the bottom of the barrel this morning, I hope, or the bottom so far, was when I wept all over Notre Dame's usually small and fiddly shaped fragments. Piecing together the exquisitely carved stone facades helped. It just let my mind find some calm in the face of panic, in the fear of what? why? well, I feel stymied at the thought of the loss. So many of someone's loved ones - real lives with hearts and minds and families that love and hate them - human and imperfect and annoying as they probably are, genius and quirky and unique. That is a heavy sea anchor. This is the jelly I swim in . I know we have to stay home and I'm actually fine with that. Its a way of helping that leaves me feeling helpless. I stayed in the jelly with the pieces until I could stand up without crying again. Success uses a lot of precious bog roll sometimes.
 I also scrapped yesterdays regime and replaced it with another. Do what you like, whenever you like. I am no teacher, no time tabler, no crowd manager, no people whisperer. I deal with the broken one at a time, hands on, heart on, so don't ask me to manage your schooling. I'm there for sustenance and encouragement. I love you to bits but can't teach you mathematics. Child.
After an hour of two of spires and twirley window panes of the french style and some serious edging wins, I made lunch, and - new regime of meeting them at their interests - kept my teen and preteen bubble mates at the table long enough for a card game of shi'thead in the sunshine. Next we all marched off for a family plus dog walk up into the bush. I managed a tictoc video with our daughter.
We went to virtual assembly and put out our bears for anyone going to catch a big one and are not scared. I managed some work sitting on the trampoline, a novel experience and one that my pelvic floor tolerated (I did say sitting, not leaping),  did some more work and a whanau yoga session on the interweb. Dinner included a 123 beer bread which is wonderful but involves a sacrificial lager. (Best early on in the lock down in case beer becomes as precious as bog roll.)
Then we officially opened the Fungeon with an inaugural family dungeons and dragons session. Had a bag of chips. Amazing friday night larikins. I am a dragon born bard, and claim a toll of 2 giant spiders which have died at my hands. I gained an elixir of life that claims to cure all illnesses, so watch this space (can you guess what I'm thinking there?)

Mostly, I am trying to find new normal. I see its no use trying to find it in other people's suggestions, as much as knowing is empowering and comforting in a shared challenge way.  Just do whatever the fuck you like.

Thursday, March 26, 2020

Rollercoaster peaked then hit that fast moving free fall. How many days to go?

Riding the roller coaster of hom-e-motions today with all the highs of a lycra junkie at a wanderlust convention and all the lows of a junkie. Denied her fix. And what is my fix? My fix is people apparently. Big hairy scary leery weary fairy... aloe Vera-y. People. Deary. I even like the beer-y ones when I am one.
Day one lock down and day three home school. I've been making a list of the things I wont need in lock down. Hung up my handbag behind the bedroom door. Wont need that sucker for a while except for my big weekly outing to a supermarket. Can someone please remind me next wednesday where I put it, ta. Also don't need a courier ticket that's be lolling around my desk for a few years. Or any ticket to any thing, any place any airplane, any time soon. All re-purposed for tooth flossing. I don't need a razor to shave my legs. I could use one but I'd have to give a shit.
I made an executive and highly personal decision that 52 hours was long enough to wear a set of clothes. Straight. Not given any decrees or guidelines, just saying.
I tried to work. Not much luck when they don't answer the phone. Next person I see outside my bubble after the bubble pops and we all go back to physical contact is GOING TO FEEL MY LOVE.
Strangely not feeling like hugging the people inside my bubble much.  I have an overwhelming feeling I am a failure as a mother late evening as I seem to have neglected to teach them how to wipe a bench, empty the compost, how to clean different types of dishes, stacking the dishwasher etc. Felt like a failure cause I cant teach math's either, or it seems keep all of them happy for any length of time - someone is always cross with me - and right now the only way I can keep them safe is by not letting them out the gate. I mean, the bar is low and I'm bent over backwards limbo-ing all around the house and still not hitting my KPIs for the day in any way.
The washing is still not folded so no changes there, I suddenly haven't had hours to precision fold my clothes like the pinterest ideas for lockdown page suggested. In fact, time is a vortex aimed to mess with my head with all its accelerating and decelerating warp warp .
But then a success. I finally got them off devices now conveniently called 'school work' and out the door at 1145 am only and hour and a quarter after I started yelling we are going to go. We had a burst of cardio up the bush track and I felt lucky we have such a precious place to breathe.
Then failure then success. A neighbourly 2m by 2m swim out to the buoy in the bay was a good way to burn off the angst from our first lockdown adult v adult  argument. Lets just say I was right. I hugged the buoy and rampantly infected it with my virus loving. If I had it. ( No symptoms, just don't anyone else touch it, that buoy with no togs on is mine).
Then a midday bath to check the news and eat lunch and bring my body temperature back up. Why am I holding onto old expectations of achievement when I so freely make and adopt other new rules?  ie  bathing as an anytime activity but other rules of married engagement stay the same.
The afternoon dragged on after that, another burst of work, and we made a video singing on the deck for homework. Tick for mum. the universe gives me a broken ukelele string one the first day of a national lockdown. Ironic. But not world stopping.
I haven't had a nap after three whole days straight at home ( wtf, time vortex?) and now I'm plain wingeing. Not a fungeon insight  today.
Notre dame was mocking me from the puzzle blitz so I shoved one piece into place down her majestic impeccable gob, as I drank my third glass of wine and secretly ate the jet planes while they played smash bros. I haven't watched any TV, learnt any languages, origami-ed any paper or jeans,
or achieved anything much at all.
One day in and I'm already nuts. Or just more obviously nuts to the people who have to bubble with me. I'm a fish in jelly. I'm a bear shitting in the woods with no-one watching. I'm, frankly, a pain in the arse. What if they, the people I love, come to this realisation too? After all these years of hiding it in the busy lifeness ? What if? Love you too.
 

Wednesday, March 25, 2020

Sour party mix dresses for dinner and buys garlic

Last day of preparation, day three at home involved....a trip out.
To school to pick up art supplies left behind, to Bin Inn for preserving sugar and randoms, more art supplies, then cueing one by one in the sunshine for forty five minutes to get Grandad's butcher order. The butcher in the village is closing which was a surprise so we had one day to calmly stock. Two cottage pies and a kilo of sausages should keep him going for weeks. Four square for, not a panic shop as much as a comfort one. Ice cream, chocolate (including chili flavor to put off the kids), lollies labelled sour party mix, more lollies - jet planes this time  - because I'sa feeling nostalgic, garlic (still checking vampire horizon) and fresh pasta. Weird. Gingernuts. Back to school to pick up tennis gear left behind. All the usual Grrrrr noises. All the kids went out to play tennis with their Dad and I thought wow this is what an empty house feels like.
Tried to work.
Cold water therapy sea swim after trying to work.
Gave the buoy a big hug and felt a millions times better. FYI I bags all the buoy hugs this month.
Cooked nice dinner.
Dressed for dinner and Texas hold 'em poker.
Zoom called the siblings and parents.
Five minutes staring at fucking Notre dame in pieces. Put one piece back together.
I feel like Humpty Dumpty put back together with all the wrong pieces pointing the wrong way. My nose is in my armpit. I don't know what to say or what to expect.The sour party mix was supposed to be ironic funny and the dressing for poker night meant to convey an air of siege mentality throw your last breeding dodo into the fire pit, chaps. we are all having so much jolly fun. Here we go, doing it for all the right reasons. But then I blew it by yelling at my bubble mates because they are well, really annoying and I am really annoyed. (Clarification :They are annoying only some times and I am annoyed all the time). Party on, friends. For the health of others, I know.
Jacinda says I cant invite you to my sour party (mix) but my fear is would you even want to come?

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Home school lesson - achieved with various grades

Day two.
I have had a big day sorting out my now working from home regime as a person who actually has to put their hands on and touch everyone, all the time, and get paid for it. Telehealth feels quite viscerally lacking. But, am grateful for the work and I can embrace the new virtual. Home school lesson . Resilience - Achieved with pass.
I notice the boys are asking me 'Are you OK, Mum?' more today than any other day I remember. Maybe its the vacant stare while standing in the middle of the lounge with a mobile phone in one hand and a vacuum cleaner hose under my arm and 3 pack of baked beans in my pocket and the days global death toll spinning around my head. Home school lesson - Be nice to mum because she's a horses tail hair width from spazzing totally out - Achieved with excellence.
I bought a 1000 piece puzzle yesterday that Missy started this am before 8am. This wee thing gave me my truly peaceful moments in the day (am referring to puzzle, not child). A thousand pieces of the waterway in front of Notre Dame Cathedral, noticing the precise shade of green under the cathedral compared to the still dank green of  still waters and the fractured carnage of the full sun beside the river barge. A world smashed into a  myriad of reflections of light, subtle nuances of days gone by and days to come, what will and may and may never happen. I was going to tell the kids - 'This is Notre dame, chaps, fat chance you'll ever see it.', but my husband thought that was going a bit grim. Home school lesson - Keep it cool and relentlessly positive -  Not achieved.
I am influenced heavily by the amount of apocalyptic reading I've done. Not sure if that's helping right now. I keep looking out for the zombie vampire hoards. I feel an over whelming sense of doom, and I hit tearful alert level 2 tonight. But this is a short term quite lengthy paralysis. I can't remember my work colleagues names when trying to email them, and I saw them yesterday. I know this is cognitive overload, my brain cannot manage to  hold onto certain bits of information due to over riding hyper sympathetic over drive. My fight response is fueling all the actions and thoughts. Except for the blue sky edges of the puzzle above Notre dame. They are perfectly shaped bliss balls.
I realized today the true benefit of school besides education. Tires the little fuckers out. Especially the teenagers. All day long they have lounged on various pieces of furniture and technology. They managed an olympic effort late morning in folding and delivering the papers hitting at least 200m from home. Fueled by 1.5kgs of cereal and half a months worth of milk. Essential work. Apart from that they await the google classroom call to duty with a PS4 controller in one hand and a cereal ladle in the other. Until 930 pm, when they spark up with a days worth of energy and start hanging all the soft toys with shoe laces, throwing sneakers at heads and singing their usually buried emotions into hysterics. The world becomes a bad opera at 2130. Here are the energy vampires, out to attack. Must remember to recommend they put more stairs in those new school buildings, God Bless Teachers. Home school lesson, appreciation for teachers and school - Achieved with excellence.



Monday, March 23, 2020

You can take my freedom but you cant take away my C'ronut Virus. Live from the FungeonNZ

And just like that, I'm the motheronboard. And the teacheronboard. While workingonboard. Paying back the mortgageonboard. While preserving the plums and feeding the sourdough starter. And keeping an eye on the latest global death statistics learning to crochet being a community minded carer and rocking it across all my social media feeds. Did I mention the chickens? Got to squeeze those suckers daily. Already drank most of my red wine. Bringing my virus baggage with me. Chapped hands is the new black.
Fuck. Sorry. Shouldn't swear but probably will.
Day one. Lets begin this thing called LockDownFreakyShitNz or otherwise known as 'the Fungeon'.
Home schooling (8 hours in) has started with the boys teaching me (anyone surprised?) about the fudge dungeon which is a torture house made of fudge that is supposed to be fun. (Thanks Wreck it Ralph)
I'm not sure who is going to learn the most in this fungeon.
I was driving over the Remutakas (GO YOU LITTLE TAKAS!) when the country escalated to Level 3, slippery sliding with extra bubbles rapidly into Level 4 in 48 hours, to a Lockdownnz. What were you doing?
Usually putting NZ on the end of the word makes it cool and happening and funky. All in it together. Not in this Fungeon. FungeonNZ. Meh. That's a bit better with capitals.
Post announcement I popped into Kiwi bank to get a pin number on my new credit card, Hallelujah, and gave $40 bucks to two old looking homeless dudes wrapped up together in a sleeping bag under an old shop front awning. 'Find somewhere to stay and keep warm and safe' I advised them. 'Find somewhere thats warm and safe on Wednesday at 130pm'. I said. They nodded and rubbed the two twenties together. What a cheap arse I am, I thought later, vigorously rubbing my hand sanitiser into the cracks.
My fungeon isnt even going to be that fun, I expect. I'll try and at least give an honest ratio of spazz to 'gram moments.
I am so lucky. An grateful. And even though I cant answer my daughter's math's question she wants to start at 9pm (I don't know! Go to sleep ! Its a home school night!), I did answer the whats going to happen tomorrow question. Tomorrow darling, its going to be OK. Whatever happens in the fungeonNZ tomorrow, it will never be the same, but it will be OK.