Day 19 – Tuesday, 14 April
These days I am looking forward to my weekly outing to the supermarket and pharmacy – the only stores open during the first phase of the lockdown. My main goal each day is shifting towards fighting boredom and routine – and a short walk out of home every week. I am beginning to feel restless and frustrated at the situation. I crave freedom and novelty like a parched man begging for a drop of water, and knowing all the same that things won’t get easier until at least the end of the month.
I would love to read more books, but my focus is not where it should be; still, I am planning to discover a new author next, Norwegian thriller writer Jo Nesbo, and finish a few crime thrillers this month from my book collection. Perhaps Tess Gerritsen or Lynda LaPlante.
I want to write thousands of words daily. Yet, I can’t seem to find those words. The progress is slow, as I procrastinate and deal with the minutiae of household chores and continue to find freelance work in between. I feel like I’ve been neglecting my primary mission – finish and publish a novel – and I need to gt back into the rhythm of constant writing. So far, I resolve to pick up the pieces of my lockdown journal.
Finally, I am excited to try new recipes in the kitchen in preparation for the Orthodox Easter weekend. My husband has been toying with baking bread, perfecting his ciabatta experiments day by day. There’s no shortage of food, fresh bread and aperitifs on the table, nor coffee to keep us going, for which I am grateful.
Under the current quarantine circumstances, I believe that for many South African families, hunger and unemployment are the real threats to face, not the virus itself. The implications are staggering to the country and its people. It may be an unpopular opinion, but I do believe the strict lockdown should be lifted for life to move on, with the necessary precautions taken, of course. It’s good to dream.