Day One

 

5 years ago this month, we were living in strange and worrying times! I decided to write a diary of my experiences of Covid and lockdown, thinking that one day my grandchildren would be interested in what happened during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Here is the first entry......

Day one

The world is going crazy.

It's actually getting quite scary out there. You wouldn't think it by just looking out the window though - the birds are still feeding off of our bird feeder, the dog walkers and runners are still passing by and if you are very lucky, the sun will shine too!

I have put day one on here, but only as the first day of journaling this all. We are in the midst of our very own World War against an invisible enemy. You may not be able to see it, but its out there capturing the old and the vulnerable and turning everyone into crazed toilet roll hoarding animals!

We popped into the supermarket today. We weren't looking to bulk buy or hoard, but just to see if we could pick up a few extras which might help us should we end up self- isolating. I wanted to cry. There was nothing on the shelves. It was like the store had just been built and we were in there before it had it's grand opening.

No eggs. No bread. No milk. No sausages. No washing powder. No cloths.......plenty of Easter eggs! We bought some in case we aren't able to closer to Easter. If the girls are going to be off school for weeks on end and stuck in the house, I couldn't bear for them to think the Easter Bunny had neglected them - or worse still caught Coronavirus!

It is affecting us all. Eldest daughter is showing signs of anxiety - tummy aches and wanting to be cuddled close to me. 

"The problem is," she realised this morning "that all the questions I have, even you don't know the answers to"

It's true. My head is like mush at the moment. I'm confused about the advice we are getting to stop socialising, yet I am dropping my girls off to school every morning, praying that we can give them normality as much as possible , but worrying they are getting and spreading the virus.

I am worried about my Mum, My Dad, My sister, My In-laws, our friends - I just feel so powerless and desperate.

Watching what is happening all over the world, seeing how bad it could and will more than likely get, is so scary. My friend just messaged me and said she feels like she is living in a dream - or rather, a nightmare!

My head hurts from supressing the real anguish I feel from the girls. I'm already finding tensions rising between my husband and I. Nothing major, just kind of "I'm scared" tension which pops out as a little dig at each other, leaving you feeling even worse. I go to bed imagining how worse things might be tomorrow. What debate on morning television about the state of it all might erupt? What action will or will not be taken?

I'm starting to really appreciate the older generation who went through the war (far worse, of course for them) but still as life changing as this is for many of us.

Copyright C Maskell 2025