As I write this, it is day 12 of lockdown, with more to come, and it could be seen as all doom, gloom and Zoom across New Zealand. The suffering for those who will lose jobs, businesses and loved ones is very real but there are many aspects of our new lives in the bubble that also bring cheer.
Out here in the country, my wife, dog and I have it easy, as long as we stay healthy. It’s safe. It’s silent. For some reason, the birds have returned in abundance. Piwakawaka, rarely seen on Speargrass Flat, tamely flap around my head each day I step outside; the tui have taken to clamouring at our window to remind us the feeder needs filling and the birdsong is sharp and loud in the clear autumn air.
Our days have a comforting routine: slow start, then dog, ODT and porridge in bed, a big road bike ride, lunch while watching the daily 1 News Special, dog walk, reading, drinks, tea and TV. So far, I’ve felt no urge to clean cars or ovens, tidy garages or pick up leaves. Turns out not having time to do these really wasn’t the reason for them not getting done.
Outside we seem to have returned to a simpler life. We enjoy the daily parade down our road of cyclists, many of them family groups, often with very young children clearly learning important skills, safely. There are runners, mums and sons, granddads and granddaughters, couples walking, dads pushing prams; everyone smiles, everyone waves. There’s a stuffed gorilla on our letterbox. As has been noted by others, it’s also a great time to be a dog. No lake to swim in, riverside track to follow, no off-leash time, but ‘Oh, boy, Dad, today’s walk down the road was my favourite ever, and tomorrow’s will be just as good!’ Such fabulous animals.
Everywhere families have turned to themselves in inventive ways to keep spirits up, to entertain or to exercise. Social media has never been put to better use sharing many of these crazy ideas. It certainly makes a change from the usual political rants or images of some fabulous restaurant meal. The memes, Gifs and jokes, too, have never been funnier. Friday night family drinks on Zoom have become a norm for the women in my family of different generations. There is no social distancing at all at this time, just a necessary physical distancing. If anything, we have all spent more time talking to friends and family than previously.
Families are planning, preparing and eating meals together. Have the nation’s sons and daughters ever cooked so much from scratch in recent times? Dads are baking bread, rather than BBQing. Filling the tins, something my mother did, has become a household task again, and the youngsters are helping.
Autumn has helped. A time of mellow fruitfulness indeed. If I’ve got to be locked down I’m happy to be locked down with new season’s apples, pears, grapes, pumpkins, leeks and cauliflowers. And, the weather has been kind. Today, there is snow on the hills but since March 23 it’s been a spell of golden, autumn weather.
Praise, too, for our newspaper. The world’s going to hell in a handbasket but, there it is, each day, tossed from a car before dawn, waiting near the road to be retrieved by the dog. It’s comforting regularity is reassuring.
My parents lived through two world wars, the Spanish Flu of 1918, the Great Depression, the threat of nuclear war and, perhaps their biggest challenge, the birth of rock’n’roll. The last was the only thing they complained about. We will cope. However, sadly, there will be no light at the end of the tunnel, silver lining or rainbow in the sky for many.
But, when it’s over, a part of me is going to miss this return to a simpler time, when the family was king, when we were kind to each other, when the tins were full, when we tried hard, when we reached out, and when the Easter Bunny was designated an essential worker.
- You’ll find more Voices from Otago Rugby Union general manager Richard Kinley, light rail proponent Neville Jemmett and digital entrepreneur Rebecca Tremlow at odt.co.nz/opinion.
