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| Lockdown in Spain. At least the food is good. |
We woke up on Day 2 of
lockdown to a rainy Mallorca. There was a sense of mild relief among the mums
on my Whatsapp group. Bad weather was an easy explanation to give to their young children who didn't understand why they weren't going out again.
Not being able to
explain to Sol why we aren't going to the park or meeting up with her friends is the hardest part. She asked after her little friend today. "Gabel?" she said, her brow scrunched up and her little palms open in question. "Gabel?"
She's too little to even pronounce his name properly (Gabriel), but her face lights up when she sees him, and they have so much fun together. He only lives twenty minutes walk
away but we won't be seeing him or anybody for who knows how long.
12 days doesn't sound so bad... but what if
they ended up needing us to stay home longer? I don't entertain dark thoughts as a rule, but I
do find getting to sleep has become difficult. My mind races.
Back to this morning.
I paced up and down in front the glass door to our terrace looking out at the
white sky and I was reminded of animals I'd seen at the zoo. I thought, HOW
DARE WE! HOW DARE WE LOCK ANIMALS AWAY!
My husband, who once
again fell asleep within minutes last night, initiated our morning dance
session. We opted for Latin and Reggae. Our 21 month old embraced it
wholeheartedly, waving her arms about and doing some great squats. Our dance
morphed into an energetic work out. "Knees higher! Higher!" shouted
my husband, as we marched around in circles on our square of astroturf, which we
had bought instead of normal carpet.
Our day proceeded much
like an ordinary rainy day. My husband has no work, but luckily I still have
assignments for abcMagazine which I can get on with. He kept Sol entertained
while I wrote. Thanks to a toy exchange with my friend at our last
supper pre-lockdown, we have acquired a dolly buggy which Sol has enjoyed all day.
My mums' whatsapp
group was busy as mum's showcased their creativity. A lockdown is a real test
of character and I felt full of admiration for some of the mums who were being
so resourceful and upbeat. Some people have more room than others. But whatever space they had they were making the best out of it: from building ramps, making costumes, inventing motor skill exercises with egg boxes and cotton buds
and baking.
Room, space... Nothing like a lockdown to make you think about how unequally land is
divided in our society. On the streets behind us our large
mansions with big gardens. These are mostly unoccupied holiday homes belonging to people who rarely visit. Imagine how wonderful that space would be to all those families in
lockdown in small flats with no outdoor area.
I'm grateful for our
terrace. I'm grateful for a long corridor which is perfect for a little person
on a tricycle. I'm grateful I have the keys to my neighbour's flat which she
says I can use if we start to feel claustrophobic!
Never has a terrace,
or balcony, been so important. Thanks to balconies people are uniting in
solidarity. In Alicante my brother
and another neighbour from the apartment complex have been Djing from their respective balconies from 6-7pm. People on neighbouring terraces have been coming
out to dance.
In Barcelona, a video captures a keyboardist playing Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On from Titanic from
his balcony and a trumpeter accompanying from another balcony. It's moments like these that bring tears to your eyes and makes you realise HUMANS HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO BE
AMAZING.
Let's show the world
how amazing we can be during these difficult times ahead. Let's dig deep and find
every scrap of imagination, creativity, inventiveness, heart, passion,
compassion and strength for now - and for our lives to come.
You can also find me on my Facebook Emily Benet Author Page.
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