What strange times we live in. After 9+ weeks of adapting to not leaving the house, slowly we are now being encouraged to head outdoors. Where many will be desperate to embrace the ‘new normal’, others remain tentative and unsure. The impact of Coronavirus on the population’s mental health is, and will continue to be, huge. From the fear of the virus itself, to the stress about re-joining the outdoor world, to face-to-face meetings that aren’t through a screen … every person has their own worries moving out of lockdown.
As a family we’ve adapted to life in our little bubble – our house and garden. This is our ‘new normal’ and we’ve become comfortable with it. Yet with schools starting to reopen, we’ve been taking small steps to prepare ourselves for life beyond Covid19, and life outdoors again. Let’s say, we’ve been in captivity, and we’re now in a sanctuary getting ready for release back to the wild! This is what we’ve been doing so that we’re ready and able once those cage doors open!
Mindfulness
No news is Good news
Back in January I wrote about ways in which mindfulness would be important to me in 2020. Never did I realise in a million years that we’d find ourselves shielding against a pandemic. The news, at first, was addictive. Daily briefings became must-see viewing. Every news story was read, digested and debated. Not anymore. We now watch the government daily briefing, but turn off as soon as the media questions start being asked. Listening to the media digging for their next headline only causes frustration and anxiety. So, the TV goes off.
TV and Reading
With a poor offering on TV, due to many productions being postponed, it has been a fantastic opportunity to catch up on films. We’ve watched some genuinely entertaining films on Amazon Prime these last few weeks, from the The Current War, Fisherman’s Friends, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Aeronauts, Blinded by the Light, Stephen Fry: More Fool Me, Apple Mortgage Cake … I recommend them all! Mr Pip is my choice for this evening! Toby loves The Grand Tour, so has been watching those episodes, along with James May in Japan. We won’t allow any violence, apart from Jurassic Park that’s been watched a few times on repeat! Good films encourage escapism – it takes our mind off what’s going on in the world.
Books have the same effect, and I have made great steps into upping my fiction reading. Every day, at lunchtime, we all take a book outdoors into the garden and sit in silence to read. Today we had the sounds of our neighbour’s children splashing around in their paddling pool, but usually we’ve just listened to the baby blue tits tweeting for their parents. I’m amazed at how much better I feel after just 30 minutes reading!
Health and Wellbeing
Diet
Back in February, as a family, we took the decision to follow a vegetarian diet. We all had our own personal reasons for making the choice, and we ensured no one was under any kind of pressure to carry on if they didn’t feel it suited them. Well, here we are, nearly 4 months on, and we’ve made the switch to a non-meat-eating family amazingly well. The children have become a lot more adventurous with trying dishes and new ingredients. We all sit and eat together – something we rarely did before, as we often cooked a meal for the kids and another for the adults. Now we all eat the same food, at the same time. With no mobiles at the table! As a family we eat a lot more vegetables than we used to – that can only be a good thing!
Hydration
Continuing on from the diet change, we also made a pact to drink more water. We invested in a good filter – a ZeroWater 12 Cup – that removes any dissolved solids from tap water, from chemicals, iron, lead, asbestos, mercury and more, making the water pure. It lives in the fridge and is large enough to ensure we all have a constant supply of cold fresh water. If there’s a queue of people waiting for water, you can set it on the edge of a worktop and there’s a tap you can press to release the water. It tastes amazing, and it’s our go-to drink during the daytime now (yes, I’m even drinking less coffee!)
We’ve started to go out for longer walks (see next section) and we always take drinking bottles out with us, filled with cold, filtered water. A water filter and good water bottles have been invaluable these last few weeks. Our current favourite water bottles are by the quokka brand. I confess I was drawn to them by their name, as quokkas are one of my favourite animals! These ones are standing the test of time – they are lightweight, don’t leak, haven’t broken, and are easy to clean. The children liked the designs on offer, and it is a great way to avoid buying plastic bottles of water. The company are also donating funds to build water wells in Ethiopia, so all in all it was a win-win decision to buy them.
Fitness
So, we’ve started to venture outdoors again. Not too far, and not by car, but just exploring the countryside immediately around our village. In my daysack I pack a small snack, water bottle and an XL Tesalate towel that is lightweight and doubles up as a picnic blanket (and a towel if you paddle in the stream). We love this Australian brand of towel, having travelled with one or two over the last few years. They come in funky designs, dry really quickly, and are the famous towels that allows sand to slip straight through. These XL ones though are brilliant as they double-up as picnic rugs too! Sometimes it is just nice to be out, and an opportunity to sit down and take in your surroundings is just a lovely thing to do.
The children have more energy than us old fogey parents, so they always bring along some outdoor games. At the moment they are into their Wicked-brand games of UKick, Mega Jump, and Indoor Booma. They’ve still not managed to get the Booma to return! They get quite competitive I’ve noticed lately …
Just being outdoors – socially distancing from any other family groups – really invigorates you.
Relaxation
After a long walk outdoors, nice (veggie) meal at home, and before settling down for a movie I’ve taken to spending 30 mins on my massaging bed. To be honest, we’ve all been using it! It is great for any tight muscles in your legs and aching back and shoulders (from carrying the backpack and being pulled along by two spaniels!) Absolutely love this machine!
Something else I love is a soak in a nice hot bath. Three years ago, I was introduced to a bath oil called Olverum. A sample was sent to me to try out – I took it to the Maldives and had a few open-air baths there soaking in this amazing oil!
And I’ve been using it ever since. It’s a cure-all! Dry skin, solved. Headache, gone. Inflamed skin, healed. Stuffy head, cleared. It is fantastic if you struggle to sleep at night too. It isn’t cheap, but it’s fantastic!
Talking of sleep, I think it’s the perfect way to end this post. A good night’s sleep is the most important thing in the world. It sets you up for the next day, and is associated with so many health benefits. At the beginning of the lockdown I was struggling to sleep. I was having really bizarre, strange dreams that stayed with me once I woke up. And I was waking up feeling shattered. We have recently bought a new mattress, which caused me no end of shoulder and hip pain. Eventually we invested in a gel-filled memory foam topper, and it’s been a game changer. I feel so much better in myself, and I have so much more energy.
Moving out of lockdown
We’re ready. We’re in no rush … it’s been 10 weeks, we can happily do a few more if it helps get rid of this awful virus. When we are finally allowed back out though, our ‘getting ready’ efforts will pay off. Well, we have a lot of travelling to catch up on!
