Isolation wears on a person

I found this past week to be difficult, on top of being dreary outside due to lots of much needed rain. Each day drags on in the same way as the last: different faces on the Teams meetings, figure out what to scrounge together for lunch, can I be bothered to change into work out clothes and take an online dance class, turn on the TV and veg out with some mediocre dinner.

We are now supposed to be wearing masks when we go out. Mei is making me one (so thankful!) but until I receive that one, I'm making do with various things around the house. None of them stay on my nose very well. Plus with all the rain, that just made me not want to leave the house, even when it wasn't raining. If the mask slides down your nose (which it will) and you then fiddle with it to keep it up (which I will), it kind of defeats the purpose of the mask. It's such a small thing, especially compared to the struggles of many other people in this disaster, but it's easy to let little things drag you down when you live by yourself.

A couple of very bright spots in this dreary week were provided by my neighbours. The Gorens, Gil and Christie and their daughters, celebrated Passover but had to do Seder via Zoom with Gil's family. They invited me to join them via a table in the hallway. They supplied a photo of the Seder plate taped to the wall and the requisite food items for the rituals, including an extra cup for Elijah. I brought my own chair, utensils, water and wine. There were small tables just inside the open door for plate passing with distancing. They provided a book with the readings and songs translated to English and I could hear what was going on via the family's laptop inside their condo. Eventually I jumped on their Zoom call so I could meet brother and sister and families, and his mom. The meal was delicious (Gil is a great cook): nut crusted salmon, hasselbeck yam, carrot ribbon salad. After the final part of the ritual, Elyana's flourless chocolate cake was served. I took home leftovers. There was something particularly significant about this ritual this year.

I had the day off Friday and I couldn't get myself to do much of anything. I was up too late watching a British murder mystery the night before and it was another dreary day outside. In the evening, Jasmin, who lives upstairs with her husband Michael, texted me about Mexican food, as they were looking for takeout. She asked if I wanted to go in on an order, but I'd already eaten. I had actually been craving a taco all week. So she threw in a taco for me to save for the weekend. I had it for breakfast on Saturday which was such a treat.

I managed to get myself out the door on Saturday for a walk, after our family Zoom meeting. I had a chat with Tricia and some of her friends over Teams, and a Zoom chat with Amy later in the afternoon, which picked up my spirits. On Sunday Andrea Bocelli did a free YouTube concert from Milan's Duomo which was very moving. I decided to stay in and wait until Monday to do my grocery shopping. I'll figure out the mask situation and hopefully it will not be crowded. This is going to be a slower week at work, which will make it challenging to feel like I'm relevant. My physical and financial situation is good, relatively speaking. It's the psychological situation that is challenging.