Covid-19 Lockdown: Day 17

From the minute my eyes opened until now, I’ve had a dull headache. And it just won’t go away. I suspect it may be because I read well into last night and got up at 4h30 again to turn my oven off.

I usually dry rusks overnight at a low temperature but I must confess, my batch didn’t come out great at all because I baked them using a loaf pan instead of my usual sheet pan. I wanted to try something different so I cut them like Ouma rusks but I failed, and it cost me… a night worth of electricity and crumbs of pride.

Around 7h00 I watched my neighbors kids run around their garden in search of Easter eggs and it was so lovely to witness the innocence of children not giving a damn about the lockdown, but totally engrossed in the fact that the Easter Bunny had come in the middle of the night. The excited shrieks of a particular little girl next door was so heartwarming. I’m assuming this, but I think it was her grandfather egging her along to explore the garden for more hidden treasures. He wasn’t there physically but his voice cracked out of a cellphone being held by her dad, I think it may have been a whatsapp video call. It really was the most genuine, expression of love.

And that’s what Easter means to me. It’s not only about death but about love and resurrection. When I streamed our Rivers Sunday service, Pastor Andre reminded me that God is a God of restoration and that this season will eventually come to an end. There really is no obstacle that can shut down God’s plan because he always keeps his promises. And I feel really hopeful and encouraged today even though I didn’t manage to buy something special to make for Easter Sunday lunch. I did however spoil myself with the most wonderful meal.

I poached two pieces of hake in coconut milk with tomato and spinach and I spooned that over a bed of mashed butternut. I complimented my main with a simple side salad, grilled potatoes and half a gem squash with peas.

After I ate I chatted to my friends and lazed around in the sun on my balcony, something I rarely do. I caught the attention of another neighbor and he and I had a chat a bit about how bored he was. This gentleman is quite elderly and very into Zee Tv. He seemed quite disturbed that his daily series had come to an end because of Covd-19. I empathized but I couldn’t relate really.

I ended my day by chatting to my mother for quite some time. Again she repeated that she wants to die and I was like, okay, here we go. This is the second time in three days that I’ve heard the same melody. She kept laughing at my facial expression so I again reminded her that life is beautiful and that she must stop saying that because what you confess with the tongue, I believe, eventually does manifest.

My brother told me he encouraged her to read today and when she showed me her reading material I instantly beamed. My mother got really depressed when she was with me in February and when we went to church one weekend she had picked up a book in the bookstore, glanced over it and then put it back on the shelf. I had later asked her for her bank card and went back to the store and purchased it. It was a self-help book and not her kind of reading material at all but something had made her pick that up that book and I wanted her to explore it.

So she started reading it at my house after we had a long chat about being positive and naming out loud all the blessings that we can see and touch. Eventually she lost interest in the book and The Tale of Desperaux became her daily read. Today though my mother read about 30 pages of a book titled Pain is Inevitable, Misery Is Optional by Pastor Andre.

The blurb; Live the life you love. Love the life you live.