What a crazy couple of weeks it has been! Alverna never ceases to amaze me, whatever it may be, no matter what is thrown our way, we stand hand in hand and charge on. It’s great to see all nations coming together to show community, generosity, and resilience.
Lockdown, for myself, has been rather a whirlwind so far, my personality is someone who finds it very hard to sit still! So you can well imagine, my partner is being driven round the bend. I think many houses across the country will all be sparkling after lockdown is lifted. I would say the most challenging aspect I have found, would be the restrictions. Of course, I am proud to abide by them knowing that the more everyone stays home, the more we can keep our loved ones safe. So in this blog, I wanted to share my experience so far to give everyone a glimpse of what my life is like in lockdown…
Disaster! – As many in Alverna House will surely say, and I quote – “It would only happen to you Lara” Is so very true! During the lockdown, I have been battling a leak in my bathroom. I’ve had my first house with my partner over 1 year now and this was the next thing on our list. However, the day after all shops were closed, my kitchen lights failed. After much panicking it was discovered that the leak under my bathroom had gotten worse! Yikes! So after many 1-hour ques, and grumpy neighbors we can see the end in sight, thankfully. Just my look when all DIY shops are nearly all closed and those that don’t have a 2 day wait for click and collect! The perk of a leaky house at least stops me from snacking throughout the day finally. I know my waistline will not forgive me when a lockdown is over that’s for sure!
Mental Health – This subject is very close to my heart and my beautiful grandmother has struggled with mental health her whole life, for me to watch has been extremely difficult to not be by her side. This lockdown will not be helping those who suffer from any mental health conditions, seeing my grandma is something which I openly admit I took for granted, and truthfully the lockdown has made me realize what a support system around a person can really achieve. My grandma and I are very close, we always have been, so that is one challenge both me and her have both have had to face also. My gran is 83 and is useless with a normal home phone, never mind the wonderful technology of facetime, zoom calls, skype, etc. So, for me and her, we stick to the good old-fashioned phone call. I would say we speak at least once a day. Phone calls are so important to keep in touch, even on my gran’s bad days. Sometimes we don’t even need to talk all the time over the phone, it’s having that comfort of being with someone knowing they are there on the phone with you too. My longest call with her yet is 2 hours long, we ended up watching the news together, then we threw in an episode of Everybody Loves Raymond for good measure! I couldn’t even tell you how many times I have re-watched episodes with her, but every time it brings a smile to my face, seeing hers light up.
One of the many things I have learned whilst being on lockdown is taking many local shops for granted. Many retailers, shop assistants, warehouse operatives, delivery drivers, truck drivers also deserve a round of applause. Without them, most shops wouldn’t have food on the shelves, parcels not being delivered or any petrol to go and drop off essentials to loved ones! We are a very lucky nation. NHS have always had my admiration, the amount of stress they are placed under, yet as always, the NHS are the backbone to why we are such a privileged nation. There has been many a time I have visited the hospital for myself, my family or even with work. I want to personally thank everyone of our warriors in every sector helping the UK carry on through this chaos. As cliché as it sounds, I am so very proud to be part of this community and it’s a blessing that we have an army of generous local people holding it all together. <3 I am sure, like myself, there may still be a thousand stresses still going on in your life whilst we are on lockdown, the most important is the health of you and your family. Everything else comes second. It is easier to panic in uncertainty but remembers everybody is also in the same boat as you. It's ok to have a bad day or feel down. We are a community, Alverna is here for anyone who may want to have a chat and to be that bit of company in your day. We are here to help, I am here to help so please don’t hesitate if you are struggling today, ring us on 01744739600 if you just fancy a chat. Keep safe, stay indoors everyone!
