Covid-19 – Week twenty: beginning 20/07/2020
Monday morning is here, and I’m exhausted. Now you would think after my relaxing weekend I should be feeling refreshed, but I am currently questioning where the weekend went. I feel like it’s still Friday evening and I’m ready for a break. But as Lady jumps on the bed for attention, I leave these unhelpful thoughts in bed, and embrace the day.
Step 1, jog. I have a glass of water. I really can’t be arsed, I feel so lethargic. However, the motivational talk I give myself, reassures me I’ll feel awake after a 30 minute jog: aiming for a distance today is off the cards, I know my pace will be slower and I’ll feel better surely –
Still tired I head home.
Step 2, walk Lady. We decided after Lady pulled a muscle a month ago, that maybe the summer season, and 6 years old wasn’t a good age for a dog to start jogging. So, after a glass of water, Lady and I head out on foot to the local park. Lady is bright eyed, and bushy tailed this morning, her tail going ten to the dozen sniffing out hidden treats in the park. As we head home, I’m shattered, but smiling at my happy dog.
Step 3, shower and dress for work. Today it’s a floral dress to give me some positive vibes and energy – I wish!
Step 4, potter in the house. I enjoy a glass of water, hang the washing on the line and start a general tidy before work.
Step 5, work. I log onto my computer open emails and then –
Then I set away my Disney and musicals playlist. A few meetings, tasks, glasses of water and emails later I am still tired, but I’m smiling.
Step 6, food prep. We keep the tunes playing as we prep tea and lunch for tomorrow.
Step 7, tea. After a yummy tea, of salty kale, pulled pork burger and fried onions I feel a bit better. Realisation hits me, its the water. I have flushed out the goodness from my system, whoops. The total opposite of what I intended, I had thought the water would hydrate, wake and revive my energy levels. Yet, all it did was kept me going to the toilet and feeling lethargic.
Step 8, Scouting. With my new lease of energy, we finish some Scout planning for awards night, enjoying a drink of fresh orange juice and lemonade, before some tv switch off time and bed.
Step important, tomorrow let’s drink less water.
The Scouts awards evening soon arrives. We have enjoyed the build-up, from updating the earned awards, ordering the badges, packing the badges and thankyou cards in envelopes to our parents and guardians who have made it possible. Most importantly, with a note, not to open until the virtual Scout meeting.
Delivering the envelopes has been the best part so far. The supportive comments from a few well-timed drop offs, rather than letter box deliveries. These few comments of praise, while not required, remind me why I Scout, and leave a warm fussy feeling inside.
The warm fuzzy feeling has stayed and is filling my body, as I watch the beaming faces of old and young alike, during the awards night. We open with flag break and it’s clear, even though ran weekly, that some of our young people have forgotten the ceremony. The Scout sign is a mixture of wrong handed, wrong fingers and own interpretations. Maybe we have been away from the hall, meeting in person, too long.
However, having a full Group evening, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts joined by their families, is a great way to end term, all together and celebrating the success of our young people. We begin with weekly wins, which are a welcomed anticipated part of each session. This week sees parents embrace the routine, looking for the positive in their past week, it sets the scene perfectly to the badge awards. We continue our traditional congratulation chant: B-R-A-V-O Bravo! Each letter’s internet time lag only makes my smile beam bigger, as I hear the young people come together. We complement the night with a Kahoot quiz, a popular multiple choice game with our group. The names our young people choose always amuse me, aaaaaaaaaa is by far the most amusing, especially when they win a place on the podium.
As the meeting draws to a close, I know the summer break has arrived. Yet with Scouting activities still going on at County and national level, we have decided to run some sessions over the summer. After all this won’t be a traditional summer break. Many holidays are cancelled, and leisure activities are only just starting to open up.
One of those places is Beamish and we have a pre-booked slot ready to walk back in time. On arrival, Lady’s nose is sniffing out scents everywhere with her tail wagging away in excitement. Similarly, my eyes are pierced absorbing in the sights, my excitement is uncontrollable, I must look like I have a skip in my step. We enjoy a lovely walk, taking it in turns to stop and look in a few attractions. The trip seems just as leisurely, we don’t mind masking up to go inside attractions, and I enjoy slowing down for the live entertainment of three young girls casting spells with wands (sticks they have found). I love beamish it really is a living museum and not even Covid-19 can stop it’s magic.
This weekend the government’s new regulations to wear face masks in shops has come into place. I don’t want to be negative and say it’s about time, however, I can’t help but think it would have been more effective from the beginning. And as we mask up for our weekly shop, I am shocked to see not a single employee is wearing one. I mean, yes, I had seen on the news this morning that some customers weren’t, and some shops were not enforcing mask wearing. I may have been shocked this morning but seeing no members of staff wearing masks inside the shop did raise my eyebrows. It brings back memories of the one-way system and the staff walking up down isles at leisure. Surely the staff would want to stay safe? But at least I know I am taking safety precautions. I can’t worry about others all the time; it would be exhausting.
And lots of people are exhausted by Covid-19 and longing for a return to normality. Health wise, people are reporting gaining inches to their waistlines as a result of lockdown snacking, and a reduction in physical exercise. But the government has recognised this and has made fitness a priority, with talks about increased access to bikes and cycle lanes.
While other people may have been comfort eating, snacking and not exercising during lockdown. I have used the opportunity to really focus on my health, building on the changes I made in January. And what a week it has accumulated into. I shared Slimmer of week, achieved Platinum Body Magic (the top exercise award at Slimming world), and am at my target weight. I feel amazing and ready to start maintaining my new weight.
The weekend proved to be a test of will power and a good work out, as we headed to York to help ‘prune’ some trees. Let’s just say I was thankful for the rich lasagne and it would have been rude not to try the garlic bread. However, a third of my plate was salad, I have my fill and keep the home-made cake as a treat for another day. So, on the whole it was still moderation in comparison to my eating habits of the past. It was also needed as I lift, chop and maneuverer bulky branches in the summer sun.
Lady and I also enjoy a stroll down the shaded footpath to the church, onto open fields, I feel like I am in the countryside I pause taking in the scenery until… I swear I paused for no more than a few seconds to take a snap of the picturesque scene. So surely Lady did not have time to – she is on a lead after all. But yes, she has only gone and rolled in goodness knows what, covering herself and the lead. She stinks. And even after a wet wipe, hose and wash down in York, a full bath was needed at home. She’s definitely our fur baby, wanting in on the action, and mucky after a busy day of pruning.
