Our daily walks through field and forest have reminded me that, while the world of humans has changed, the natural environment surrounding us has not.
It’s week eleven of the pandemic, and I’ve just finished another Zoom meeting with a client. As usual, in the absence of in-person social nuances, body language, small talk and humour, it was an awkward affair, lightened up on this occasion by my spontaneous decision to announce (jokingly, of course) that I wasn’t wearing any pants. The virtual meeting ended up being productive, all things considered.
How the world has changed since mid-March! We got wind of the seriousness of COVID-19 about two weeks before Ontario started shutting everything down – a call from my wife’s 98-year-old aunt’s nursing home in Toronto saying that they had to shut their doors to outside visitors and deliveries, cancelling all family visitations, including any Easter celebrations with residents. Very soon afterwards we, like the rest of the world, went into self-isolation, not knowing the severity of the pandemic or how long it was going to last.
Now, almost everything we used to take for granted is different – from a simple trip to the grocery store to sharing hugs and laughter with family and friends. The days, weeks and weekends fly by one after another, as it seems that we are working twice as hard to complete work assignments and accomplish other daily tasks, while seeking rest from the everyday stresses and challenges whenever we can.
Yes, our lives have changed drastically, but I shouldn’t complain about it. I am fortunate to be with my loving and supportive wife, Egle, with whom I share wonderful home-cooked meals (usually prepared by her) and daily household chores (cooking, cleaning, stocking up on groceries, prepared foods and household supplies, disinfecting everything that enters the house, baking bread, growing a vegetable garden and, when ready, foraging for wild fruit growing around our land) – self sufficiency skills thankfully learned from our parents.
We also share daily discussions about the lockdown news of the day, observations on the world, our personal feelings and, as often as possible, some relaxation time together. Occasionally, we give ourselves a welcome treat by picking up bread, a dinner pie or sweets from our friends down the hill in Heathcote at Blackbird Pie Company.
Egle and I have been self-employed and working from a dedicated home office for many years, operating a marketing communications and content writing agency. Although our volume of projects has diminished significantly due to COVID-19, we are grateful for the work that remains, as well as the financial support from our federal government during these challenging times. We are also thankful to live in Canada, in a community that has come together to help its citizens and businesses during the pandemic.
For us, it has been important to maintain regular contact with family and friends – a sister-in-law, niece and nephew in Toronto; a brother and sister-in-law in Midland; that 98-year-old aunt in a nursing home (we’ve had many scares, but thankfully no COVID cases or deaths so far, for which we are grateful to frontline staff); friends in Portland and Georgina Island – sharing our pandemic experiences and laughing as much as possible. We even shared an Easter lunch with family in Toronto via Zoom and a short, distanced birthday get-together for Egle, complete with balloons and party hats.
Because we live in a house on 25 acres with lots of room to walk, social distancing is not an issue. We occasionally meet our neighbours for a short chat at a distance, while our respective dogs joyfully romp around the yard together. Our dog gets extra attention because she’s a new addition; we adopted Zoey, a beautiful and spirited Australian Shepherd, on February 1st , about a month and a half after we sadly lost our sweet Coco, who graced the pages of On The Bay on a couple of occasions. Although Zoey is technically not a ‘pandemic puppy,’ she has been a welcome and pleasant distraction, bringing joy, playfulness and ‘dog routine’ into the long days, quickly becoming a beloved and integral part of our little family.
Our daily walks through field and forest have reminded me that, while the world of humans has changed, the natural environment surrounding us has not. The vegetation is bursting with new growth. The wild cherry, pear and apple trees are in full and abundant bloom, offering spectacular colours and wonderful scents. The birds have settled in after their spring migration, full of song and good health.
It seems that the wildlife is observing us when we do venture out from confinement in our homes. This anonymous quote making the rounds on social media says it all: “The world continues its life and it is beautiful. It only puts humans in cages. It is sending us a message: ‘You are not necessary. The air, the earth, the water and the sky without you are fine. When you come back, remember that you are my guests, not my masters.’ ”
Over these challenging eleven weeks, we’ve been so fortunate to have Zoey to help us ‘keep it together.’ Her joyfulness waking up every morning and discovering new things is so overwhelmingly positive that even the darkest worries evaporate in a flash. Since she came into our lives, in spite of everything else, we have been laughing every day. ❧
