Thursday 5 August 2021

"Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quickly you hardly catch it going." --Tennessee Williams


 The Olympics has been prodding me to remember favourite moments of other Olympics (and Denyse got us to remember the Sydney 2000 Olympics quite recently so I won't repeat myself). The mass ice melt in Greenland got me thinking about Svalbard and the Polar Bear. We are heading into another HSC but it's quite a different landscape from before - there's stress but a different stress (about alarming government decisions and I THANK the teachers for holding their ground and not putting the kids at great risk and potentially shutting down our hospitals) and it's not countered with the celebratory feel of last time. It's a sad way to mark the end of 13 years of school. All those fun 'lasts' have already happened, apparently, before we realised and we didn't mark the occasion.

I learnt from a psyche talk I listened to last lockdown, that around the 6 week mark issues you've buried deep start bubbling to the surface. So if that's happening for you, it's normal but what you do with that emotion might need professional help depending what it is. Also remember not to let the dirt from the past fool you into thinking it's glitter. and that happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

Linking with #WeekendReflection


As Kierkegaard said Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards". I think the reason lockdown brings up our memories is not just the abundance of time but also there is no future to plan. Any time that would be spent organising trips or parties or concerts to go to, friends to catch up with is now blank, as there is too much uncertainty. My tip is plan for the future that you can. Every Friday we have a party - a three course dinner with cocktails and the whole family lingers at the table. The food is different to what we normal have, the table is often set with more effort. It's a little  thing but it does take some time and organisation and it does make me focus forward (if I get a dinner box, I need to start looking on the Monday to book before the cut offs). It's small, but it helps to have something to look forward to.




What do we need to remember in lockdown?

1. It will pass.

2. A mask and ID if we leave the house. (and sanitiser is always handy).

3. To check in everywhere.

4. To help others when we can - either with where we spend our money or checking in on friends.

5. To enjoy the sunshine when we can, to up our exercise (for mood) and to revel in whatever brings us joy (or frankly distraction).


I leave you with a funny little story I wrote back in the days of First of the Month Fiction on the prompt of memory.


How do you think we'll remember this period of our lives?

Linking with 



Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday



22 comments:

  1. Love your lock-down list. Spot on.

    Have a fabulous day and weekend. ♥

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  2. I can see you have thought carefully about lockdown. I fear we are headed back there with the Delta variation. Like your motorcycle mirror photos.

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  3. It's that lack of planning that's the issue for me. Even though we're now out of lockdown, the knowledge that we'll probably be back in & then out and then in again... It's like the hokey pokey of lockdowns here and in Vic.

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  4. Great lockdown list. I really do need a reminder to move. Thanks!

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  5. Thats a great lockdown list Lydia. Our lockdown has been lifted but I'll still be doing a lot of that anyway and I'll still limit how much I'm out and be careful where I go. It's just how it's gotta be. Another lockdown could be upon us at any time. Take care !

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  6. The Friday night celebrations sound good. And I like that you're taking a positive spin Lydia. I realise I've been ridiculously fortunate in my part of the world.

    I like the Kierkegaard quote as well and it's so true. I wish I was more patient with the present and trusted more in those moments - that they provide lessons for the future, or moments I'll relish.

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  7. I enjoyed your 'funny little story'Lydia :) Also I must thank you for the recent tip about Zero Co, I've received my first order and am very impressed. I read about it in your plastic free July post recently.

    I like the sound of your Friday night dinners and your lockdown list is spot on!

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    1. I love Zero...I get sort of addicted to sending them back when I get close to the 15....ha!

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    2. All of 2020 is a blur, and I don't like the way we are now headed here in south Florida. Our Governor has outlawed a mask mandate in the schools and threatens stiff fines for "vaccination passports" or proof of vaccination even in the private sector.. He has already proven he cannot wish away the virus with his edicts.

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  8. That's a good lockdown list, our one and only lockdown last March lasted for about 8 weeks, I think luckily people had internet and tv access, there would've been a whole lot of bingeing going on.

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  9. Good ideas for lockdown. I'm sorry you're on it again!

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  10. Nailing the leaving the house thing. It's only two of us here and we keep masks in the cars as well as with us. I am going well with the "in and out of Coles" asap. I am soooo good now at Check In and Out. Fingers crossed I stay that way. Love that you are indeed making the most of it all. Pity we have to but we do what we have to do. Thanks for linking up for Life This Week. Next week's optional prompt is Shopping and it will be interesting for me to decide what to write! So much has changed in #lockdown this time round. Hope to see you link up too. Cheers, Denyse.

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  11. Some lovely phrases throughout this post, I really like the quote 'Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards' a very true statement in my experience.

    Katrina x
    #MischiefandMemories

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  12. The lockdown here wasn't horrible, we all got by and hopefully we'll get though this next trouble spot just fine too. We enjoyed your post!

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  13. Good ideas to help with lockdown x #kcacols

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  14. I love your lockdown list. Honestly I'll remember all those moments at home with my girl. Thank you for linking up with us for #kcacols

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  15. I love the quote reference and great lockdown tips too! Thank you for linking up with us for #kcacols

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  16. So sorry you are going through another lockdown. The ones we had here were hard. I hope your lockdown ends soon. Do you have an ending date or still waiting for an update? Thanks for sharing this post with us at #KCACOLS XX

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    1. No end date...we are now just trying to get vaccination numbers up. However, it is becoming apparent we don't know what we are doing, so when we are let out, it might lead to disaster anyway...

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