ISOLATED BUT NOT ALONE
Staying busy and keeping in touch with loved ones is key for this couple
Being the creatures of habit that we two 82-year-old birds are, my wife, Cathy, and I are finding that life through these past five weeks of self-isolation is not much dierent from the schedule that we normally keep. We still manage to fill our average 14 to 16 daily waking hours with a regular routine—one that satisfies us both. We enjoy reading a large selection of magazines that continue to arrive with their usual regularity; I also have a penchant for novels by my favourite author, John Grisham, and I read the daily newspaper first thing with my coee.
Throw in the successful completion of a Sudoku puzzle and the better part of my morning is shot!
Our home is usually where we, our kids and our grandkids gather for holidays and birthday celebrations, but since we are all sequestered in our own homes, we gathered via Zoom on Easter morning. We spent two full hilarious hours in conversation, telling stories of our lives such as they are, just like we always do, only usually with lots of home cooked Maritime food. It was a blast as we could see everyone, and the absence of bodies didn’t quell our entertainment one bit.
One of the Christmas presents under the tree this past year for me from the kids, was an ancestry kit. Since I was adopted shortly after birth, they thought it would be interesting for me to find out some facts concerning my ethnic background. Just as we were coasting into the COVID-19 shutdown, my DNA results came back, and following reams of facts and figures, I discovered that I have a half-brother, located right here in southern Ontario! We’ve made initial contact with each other and it looks like we’ll be getting together when this forced seclusion comes to an end.
Cathy and I also manage to find time to fit in a daily walk, but since we both walk at a dierent gait, Cathy walks in the morning and I go sometime in the afternoon. We watch TV as well of course, and thank goodness most of the programs we thoroughly enjoy are still airing.
In recent weeks, Cathy has been downstairs in her sewing room, stitching up multiple operating room skull caps to go with the matching medical face masks, out of attractive, approved materials. Our daughter has distributed the masks to friends and family members for personal use, while the scrub hats went to various hospital stas. I wouldn’t be surprised if they end up in the hands of frontline workers down at the cancer clinic where Cathy spent so much time in the past year—for the third time. Not much has been said about her eorts, but that’s indicative of my precious wife’s quiet nature. That is
how she shows her appreciation best. Cathy hasn’t lost her talent in the kitchen over the years either, and it’s a real treat to come downstairs in the morning to the smell of fresh Maritime molasses bread to go with our steaming hot brews of co ee! Her soups and fish creations are to die for as well. She manages to take in news on her ipad, and I’m never surprised to see a growing puzzle sitting on the kitchen table.
I had put together a collection of littleknown World War l and World ll stories, as well as others, which you can find at the Legion Vimy Branch 145 website. Got to www. vimylondon.ca and follow the links to The Scribbler. By popular demand, the sequel— The Scribbler, Too—is now being researched and written with the help of my daughter, Tammy.
Our daughter, Debbie, who lives nearby, insists on doing the grocery shopping and the banking required to keep our ranch running, and our grandkids stay in touch as well. Following many months of attending to medical issues for Cathy, and me receiving the gift of a cochlear implant last fall, in some ways, this whole time of banishment to our home has been somewhat of a blessing for the both of us, with the complete rest we’ve been blessed with. We’re doing just fine, the two of us, but when we do return to the new normal, we’ll try very hard to make up for all the plays and concerts we’ve missed, as well as the travel plans we made and had to cancel during this time. After 58 years with the same gal, a quarantine like this is a cinch. Friends and family provide the finishing touch. We continue to pray for the safety of others, especially the elders, and those on the streets. Our secret, if we have one these days, is just continue to wash our hands, keep our distance and stay home! ■