Skip to main content

Day two is over

Tonight, I think back to time spent in Germany, and have gratitude for a nation, showing kindness to their neighbours in times of trouble.


Italy is sitting at over 10 000 deaths in a country with more than 92 000 reported cases of the Coronavirus. Their prime minister has all but given up hope and is at a loss of where to go from here... In a sign of solidarity, Germany has agreed to take some of the Coronavirus patients from Italy, to help alleviate some pressure from struggling Italian hospitals. What a dire situation! Italy is not the only country currently struggling with huge numbers of fatalities due to this virus, Spain is seemingly catching up fast, with nearly 6 000 deaths.

I pray that our country will be spared these type of statistics, and that this lockdown will help curb the spread. For the most part, people are staying in their homes, abiding by the laws set out by our president. But then there are other areas in our country that seem not to be affected/bothered by the lockdown. People are roaming freely, going about their business like there are no worries...

Where will this carefree attitude bring our country? The belief that this is not real, that the media are lying/sensationalizing, and that it is a European illness that will not affect us here at the southernmost point of Africa?

I feel that our president knew that this was coming and that it could bring disastrous consequences and therefore, he deployed the army to help protect our citizens from themselves... I pray that the people who are resisting the lockdown will come to realise the seriousness of the situation, and that staying home protects THEM, and those that may get infected by them if they are sick and don't know it yet...

On the home front, day 2 was fairly uneventful. We all slept late, played Lego and Duplo, the kids ran around in the garden and we had homemade soup for dinner. A fairly ordinary Saturday all round, except that we had to video-call my mother to wish her happy birthday, instead of going over and having cake at her house for breakfast...

The world around us is quiet: no motorbikes racing down the road; or airplanes flying high above us; no kids running around in our complex. It is a bit of an eery quietness that we are not used to, but to me, it means that the people in our neighbourhood at least, are abiding by the lockdown rules.

Everything is calm and quiet around our house...
We are blessed to live in a complex where our neighbours care about each other, and especially the wellbeing of the kids. Debates are rife on our WhatsApp group whether a roster can be set up for the kids (especially those that have small or no gardens) to run around outside for 15 minutes - one unit at a time. Consensus cannot yet be reached, so for now, everyone is confined to their own little space.

With 19 days to go, I hope that everyone survives their confinement and come out stronger and more resilient, ready to be kinder to one another, as we have all faced this silent war together.

Such a beautiful way to look at our situation.
Stay safe.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Back to school, back to "normal"?

Last week was back to school for the Grade R's at my son's school. What an emotional time leading up to the first day back at school after more than 3 months at home... Time spent sleeping late and playing Xbox games, watching YouTube videos and Netflix. Its been a crazy time just trying to stay sane. Initially, we both worked from home, while playing referee about whose turn it is to watch Masha and the bear or YouTube videos about Minecraft. Cleaning the house, feeding the kids and keeping them from harming each other. I know we were not alone in this struggle, but at times, it felt like we were on an isolated island. The times that I could 'escape' to the shops to buy essentials, helped me recharge and reset. This has been such an unreal time.  Then it moved on to looking for a job amidst a pandemic - this is no easy feat. There are hundreds of advertised positions coming through daily, but also hundreds of candidates applying for each of these positions. H...

We will rise again

I have been listening to this song by Andra Day quite a bit these last couple of days. It first awakened an emotion in me when I saw it as part of a video by South African Airlines, where a crew from SAA took home tourist that were stranded in SA during the lockdown. Selfless people who could have stayed home with their families, but instead put themselves on the front line to reunite strangers with their families. This was so heartwarming! Watch the video here:  SAA takes German tourists home The song is so fitting for the situation we are all in. It has become somewhat of an inspirational mantra for me when things get me down. One day, we will we able to do the things again that we love. Going to the gym, spending time with family and friends, having great meals at restaurants, and travel!!! Pont des Arts bridge, Paris Once things have gone back to normal, which will probably be a new kind of normal, we all need to rise up, and face the new challenges that come ...

Day 4 is nearly done...

Nearly 2.5 billion people in 42 countries and territories are under obligatory confinement. No region in the world is excluded. Tonight, I dream of beautiful Barcelona... and pray for the people of Spain, as the number of infected people and fatalities keep rising. May God protect the people there, as well as all the people around the world that is suffering, at the hand of this dreaded virus. Sagrada Familia Our president spoke to the people of South Africa again tonight, via a live broadcast. He mentioned that there are now around 37 000 people who have died of this virus globally. And these numbers are growing at an alarming rate. In South Africa, there are now officially 3 recorded deaths. He addressed the misconceptions that many people hold about this virus, including the fact that anyone can get it. Many videos have surfaced where people from the poorer communities are going about their business and are saying this won’t affect them. What a situation we are in! ...