Sentiments about Sydney lockdown as shared by @darlo_general on Instagram
Another week of lockdown in Sydney started like this. It gave me a giggle. I’m sure many fellow Sydneysiders can relate as the COVID numbers continue to escalate and Gladys starts to feel like she is flogging a dead horse. Who wouldn’t feel this way when she keeps telling everyone to stay at home and instead, a selfish bunch of protestors decide they think that it’s a good idea to march through the streets, unmasked and cosied up together demanding their freedom, something they will inevitably delay if they don’t start to think about ‘we’ rather than ‘me’. Spare a thought for the nurses that were in tears at St Vincent’s Hospital as they saw this act of selfishness and stupidity and knew only too well what misdemeanour was coming next.
I could go on and on for as long as this lockdown most likely will, however I find it more satisfying to accept the things I cannot change and focus on the little things that bring me joy each day as I linger in the slow lane at home. I feel grateful for having time to prepare a morning cup of chai made the authentic way on the stovetop and the sense of calm it brings as I watch it bubble away and rise to the top of the saucepan. I feel grateful for the extra sunshine that gleens onto the balcony as the days lengthen and spring approaches. I feel grateful for the blooms that appear in my viola pots and the happiness I find in the variegated colours. I feel grateful for being able to witness the little green shoots from my sweet pea seeds as they pop out of the soil. I feel grateful for the kookaburra that sits proudly on the fence each afternoon and the merriment his laugh brings when I stop to listen. I feel grateful for being able to enjoy morning walks and the company of my significant other as he taps away on his keyboard in the next room. I feel grateful for being able to relax on the lounge chair and feel cozy under a warm rug. I feel grateful for being able to bathe in the forest and enjoy listening to the birds sing as I walk through the cloud of green ferns under the cover of the blue gum high forest. I feel grateful for having time and not having to be anywhere. These are but a few of the little things that lockdown affords me, each one eliciting unspoken joy in my unrushed days. Yes, lockdown has taken away my freedom but it has given me so much to be thankful for.
The Oh Lympics - some highlights
This miniature life exhibition by @tanaka_taksuya
📷 @tanaka_tatsuya
Eighteen year old Ahmed Hafnaoui makes history for Tunisia, unexpectedly winning a gold medal in the 400 metres freestyle final. The shocked expression on his face afterwards was a visual joy.
Ariarne Titmus lives out her dream collecting a gold medal in the Women’s 400 metres freestyle final, eclipsing American great Katie Ledecky and later goes on to collect another gold medal in the 200 metre event.
Arguably one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, Simone Biles courageously withdraws from the Olympic Games prioritising her mental health over expectations and Gold medals.
Jessica Fox puts the disappointment of not winning Gold in the Canoe Slalom final behind her and with steely determination returns to the river two days later to triumph brilliantly in the inaugural C1 Olympic final. Suffice to say I cried my eyes out after this one. Jess certainly earned this victory.
The smile on the face of Emma McKeon after collecting Olympic Gold in the Women’s 100 metre swimming final and sharing the moment and dais with her friend Cate Campbell, who won Bronze in the same event at her fourth Olympics.
An exhilarating football quarter final between Great Britain and Australia with the Matildas sealing victory in extra time, 4-3 to take them through to the semi-final.
The courage of long distance athlete Patrick Tiernan as he fell down exhausted in the Tokyo heat and then got up again, not once, but twice, persevering with all heart in the last 50 metres until he staggered across the finish line of the men’s 10,000km track final.
In addition to spending time watching the highs and lows at the Olympic Games, this week I’ve also enjoyed trying to solve the mystery of ‘whodunnit’ in the British four part mini series Innocent and settled in for a laugh in a rerun of the feel good series Cheers.
Blue gum high forest, Dalrymple Hay Reserve, Pymble
Until next time may your days be both serendipitous and enjoyable.
Eugenia
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