Day 15 - Fish
The last few days have been spent doing what most people seem to have been doing.... Zoom calls, gardening, painting, tidying the house, cooking new meals, a colder than planned bbq on Sunday, daily walks, more Zoom calls.... And I’ve been busy! Hence no blog for a few days. Then I felt guilty! I had it on my list of stuff to do that I would write a new blog every 1 - 2 days during lockdown! How could I fail so early on in the process? Then I realised my list also stipulates that I will write “a letter a day to people I love to keep in touch with” and I haven’t written one today because we have been painting Mia's room for most of the day. But I wrote 2 letters yesterday.... And I realised it doesn't actually matter if things are not done exactly as planned. And my lists, as much as I love them, can be amended day to day. During a normal working day I have tight deadlines and jobs I must attend at certain times and images that have to be sent off by the end of each day. When I get an email I must respond within milliseconds of reading it (in my own head) otherwise I could loose potential business, and if I miss a call I will halt anything I can in order to respond ASAP otherwise the world could end. (It wouldn't then if I didn't respond but it could now if people don't #StayAtHome)
But now is not then. And it probably never will be again. I don't need to work like I usually do. I'm not getting emails and phone calls for work at the moment (I wish I was!) And I am not almost giving myself a nervous breakdown trying to fit in all my photography jobs, keep my clients happy, respond to everything the second I get the enquiry, do all my editing, and fit around school hours and clubs. It doesn’t matter if I don’t write a blog every 1 - 2 days, because I will just write one when I feel like it. I wrote 2 letters yesterday and will do another one tomorrow, and that’s important to me because it’s a (very) little something I can do for others. But if I miss a day it’s OK. Today was a good day because we painted Mia’s room. We bought the paint months ago, and haven’t got round to doing it because I was either working on a weekend (therefore can’t paint because I’m working) or not working on a weekend (therefore can't paint because it’s going out time) But actually it’s Tuesday today and we have no work on, so all 3 of us did it together. And it looks fab!
I dropped some shopping off at my mum's over the weekend (actually I also collected some precious plain flour that she has managed to get for us - she is always looking out for others) and it’s the first time I have seen her since lockdown. It was strange, seeing her from the gate as she cowered down the driveway. But lovely to catch up and give virtual hugs and kisses. She made me laugh when she tried to pay me the £10 she owes me for something I ordered for her from Amazon.... she brought the £10 note out, put it under some loose pebbles on the driveway as I waited by the gate, and almost sprinted back the full length of her house, as I entered her property (opening the gate using my jumper over my hands as a glove, then transforming glove jumper in to a face mask whilst also holding my breath, as I reached for the note, which was miles away from her anyway) I managed to retrieve said tenner before it blew away and hastily made my retreat. “I think you are safe mum” I said, but what if she had the germs? Do I need to disinfect her tenner?! Bless her. She is being extremely careful and I am so glad she is. I joke, but I can’t think of much worse than her getting it....
The actual item I ordered for mum from Amazon turned up at our house today. She needed a bag of gravel for her garden paths, so as I was talking to her over the gate at the weekend (to be clear - this was a necessary shopping trip and caring for the vulnerable, all done in one go and from a very safe distance) I carefully checked out what she needed to match the gravel she has. I quickly found “exactly the same stuff, same colour, size, texture” on trusty Amazon and hastily ordered it as I just want to help mum out as much as I can. “I will pop it over the wall when it arrives and I’m next passing on my way to the shop” I called out to her as I left. The so called garden gravel arrived at my house today and I was gutted to realise the packet is the size of a small bag of sugar and the gravel is more like tiny fairy pebbles. I should have checked the bag measurements on Amazon and I should definitely not have bought Aquarium Gravel. I am now faced with a dilemma. Do I return the mini gravel and risk an unnecessary visit to a post office, or do I just order a fish tank and goldfish to be delivered to mum to go with the gravel?
(Pic is the stunning York Minster)
But now is not then. And it probably never will be again. I don't need to work like I usually do. I'm not getting emails and phone calls for work at the moment (I wish I was!) And I am not almost giving myself a nervous breakdown trying to fit in all my photography jobs, keep my clients happy, respond to everything the second I get the enquiry, do all my editing, and fit around school hours and clubs. It doesn’t matter if I don’t write a blog every 1 - 2 days, because I will just write one when I feel like it. I wrote 2 letters yesterday and will do another one tomorrow, and that’s important to me because it’s a (very) little something I can do for others. But if I miss a day it’s OK. Today was a good day because we painted Mia’s room. We bought the paint months ago, and haven’t got round to doing it because I was either working on a weekend (therefore can’t paint because I’m working) or not working on a weekend (therefore can't paint because it’s going out time) But actually it’s Tuesday today and we have no work on, so all 3 of us did it together. And it looks fab!
I dropped some shopping off at my mum's over the weekend (actually I also collected some precious plain flour that she has managed to get for us - she is always looking out for others) and it’s the first time I have seen her since lockdown. It was strange, seeing her from the gate as she cowered down the driveway. But lovely to catch up and give virtual hugs and kisses. She made me laugh when she tried to pay me the £10 she owes me for something I ordered for her from Amazon.... she brought the £10 note out, put it under some loose pebbles on the driveway as I waited by the gate, and almost sprinted back the full length of her house, as I entered her property (opening the gate using my jumper over my hands as a glove, then transforming glove jumper in to a face mask whilst also holding my breath, as I reached for the note, which was miles away from her anyway) I managed to retrieve said tenner before it blew away and hastily made my retreat. “I think you are safe mum” I said, but what if she had the germs? Do I need to disinfect her tenner?! Bless her. She is being extremely careful and I am so glad she is. I joke, but I can’t think of much worse than her getting it....
The actual item I ordered for mum from Amazon turned up at our house today. She needed a bag of gravel for her garden paths, so as I was talking to her over the gate at the weekend (to be clear - this was a necessary shopping trip and caring for the vulnerable, all done in one go and from a very safe distance) I carefully checked out what she needed to match the gravel she has. I quickly found “exactly the same stuff, same colour, size, texture” on trusty Amazon and hastily ordered it as I just want to help mum out as much as I can. “I will pop it over the wall when it arrives and I’m next passing on my way to the shop” I called out to her as I left. The so called garden gravel arrived at my house today and I was gutted to realise the packet is the size of a small bag of sugar and the gravel is more like tiny fairy pebbles. I should have checked the bag measurements on Amazon and I should definitely not have bought Aquarium Gravel. I am now faced with a dilemma. Do I return the mini gravel and risk an unnecessary visit to a post office, or do I just order a fish tank and goldfish to be delivered to mum to go with the gravel?
(Pic is the stunning York Minster)
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