Well here we are but so much has changed since I last wrote, we seem to find ourselves in some sort of bizarre science fiction movie! Not to make light of the situation but it does seem eerily strange.
I am currently at the start of two weeks quarantine, having just returned from the UK and this is the law here in Malta at present and rightly so! In readiness for this I made myself a ‘to do’ list, this is something I love to do anyway, pardon the pun, it’s so satisfying to cross off something when it’s done, apart from the fact that my memory isn’t what it used to be, so it helps in that respect too!! So this was at the very top of my list! My other ‘to do’ things are quite lengthy, like packing up the house ready to move, new books to read, a course to finish, knitting and work to do on the book I’m writing! Well, I’ve put Steve (who also has to self-quarantine with me) in charge of catering, I might help him occasionally, but bless he likes to keep active so I’m actually practising being kind. Tomorrow he is trying out a cake, I’ll let you know how that turns out. He’ll thank me for these new found skills one day!
We find ourselves here just the two of us, now that in itself could be interesting as although we have been just the two of us for a while, it’s never been 24/7 as Steve is always busy and popping out here and there! As you know from my empty nest blog, my family is now scattered. We were all due to meet up this month so that’s not happening, all for the best obviously but since there are members of our family that are high risk, it is a worry. If this situation has taught me one thing though it is that Malta is home. For many years I felt displaced having a foot in each country not feeling quite like Malta is home, but with things changing so much in the UK not really feeling like that was home either, not completely fitting in either. So, when this started to escalate I had to decide and fast, should I go back to Malta or stay in the UK indefinitely, I decided to return to Malta, as this is where I now feel more at home. It was a difficult decision as I had to leave my 81-year-old mother, just before Mother’s Day, but she has people on hand to help and neighbours who are very good. It made me realise that as much as I complain, Malta is now home. Well that was interesting I thought.
I am hoping that after all this is over we will maybe all start to be a little more selfless and more considerate, help those in need and not continue to turn a blind eye. I am touched and impressed by all the people that are out helping others, messages from friends and neighbours around the globe, helping each other and coming up with novel ideas and ways of keeping in touch, thankfully we have WhatApp and skype etc., to be able to keep in touch with loved ones. People are again using their imaginations to create and come up with new things, ideas, crafts, and things to do and fill up our time, we all have to pull together as we are all in this together.
Mother Earth has been suffering for quite some time in our over populated world, we are polluting and destroying it with all our crazy ways and ideas, this will give it some much needed time to heal and maybe we will all learn to respect the earth we need to survive in. It’s not completely our fault though as we didn’t know at times what was actually going on, well that might just be me, but before technology became so advanced I believe we were somewhat kept in the dark for example about the rape of the rain forest and deforestation in general, sweat shops and little children making our clothes for fancy high street stores, was that just me? I think the first thing that I was made aware of was animal testing and have signed many petitions for this cause. Now things are much more in the open for us to see and act upon ourselves, so let us help the Earth heal and be more aware, we owe it to our future generations. Sustainability and recycling are now the thing, I am still learning from my irrepressible daughters
Anyway, in my last blog I did say that we should all be taking care of ourselves more and now most of us have some time to indulge ourselves, for those of you now saying that you are still working from home, you have the time you save on travelling! Stay positive and think positive thoughts, self-talk, our thoughts, have a strong impact on us so for now practice saying kind positive things to yourself.
Finally, a massive thank you to all our health care professionals, some of them my own family and close friends, who are now putting themselves on the frontline to help us all and take care of us at this time, the least we can do is follow the guidelines and stay at home to try and prevent the spread. I know it’s been said before, but it can’t be said often enough, thank you, thank you, thank you.
(photo's of my mum in honour of Mother's Day in the UK tomorrow)
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