03.04.2020.
Quarantine has changed my daily schedule. For instance, I now go shopping twice a week very early in the morning, when there are only a few people in the 24-hour grocery shops. I was surprised to discover that I liked it. At 7.00 a.m. I can enjoy a slow walk by the empty park looking at the trees in blossom, and the violets and daffodils. The only thing that disappoints me is that my Mom can’t join me in these walks. But she’s 82 and understands the risks, so she stays at home.
We both are incorrigible optimists so we try to treat the quarantine with humour and to keep ourselves occupied. Daily planning is everything, so we’ve managed to do many things that we’ve been putting off too long. And yes, spring cleaning and other types of creating order from chaos can be fun! However, we still haven’t washed the windows, though many people around here have already done it or are in the process as I can see from my balcony. I’m hoping, we’ll manage it during the quarantine if the weather is co-operative.
Mom and I enjoy cooking and these days we have plenty of time to try new recipes or to give a new start to something forgotten. Mom misses the physical activities she is used to, so sometimes she just founds some good music on the radio and dances all by herself.
I keep working from home, writing and editing as usual. Right now we are finishing editing a post-conference volume. It’s very convenient do it online together with my colleague who lives in another city.
So far I do not feel depressed by the necessity to stay home. I’m in touch with my colleagues, friends and relatives who live in various parts of Ukraine. We talk a lot by phone or via social networks, supporting and amusing each other. Mom also communicates by phone with her former colleagues and friends more actively (it seems) than before the quarantine.
This new schedule leaves me surprisingly little time to read for pleasure, but I read old fashioned paperbacks for at least one hour every morning. It’s a good start to the day for me. I’m currently reading Italian Renaissance novellas and the 17th metaphysical poetry.
