Covid-19 Lockdown: Day 6
Today I connected with people. I don’t particularly care that it wasn’t face to face, but it was lovely to speak to some of my cousins, friends and a pastor from my church.
My cousin Shameera lives in Australia and I didn’t even brush my teeth yet when she called.
In my morning haze I had initially declined her call because I don’t do well with no caffeine in my body. So after downing a couple of sips I slowly started to emerge mentally, like a bear after a long winter. My beautiful cousin was working from home and we were chatting to each other during her interviews. We talked about everything and nothing and laughed like we always do because that’s our chemistry. We’re bonkers about food and after a little while, we always gravitate into long discussions about meals and meal planning.
I was meant to visit Australia this month and as the days edge closer to 19 April 2020, my heart shrinks just a little from sadness. I had been stockpiling little gifts for my family in Australia since I booked my ticket last year. Shameera and I even had a little countdown going prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. When I decided to postpone my trip, I cried for days and just couldn’t speak to her because I was so upset. I still get upset when I open my cupboard and see the dresses I bought for her just hanging there, limp, its purpose unfulfilled. Anyway, her call eventually came and I started working.
I cleaned a bit of my home today and I was thorough. I ordered all the ants back into their wooden crevice in the kitchen and warned them not to come out if they wanted to live in my house. I also made a mental note to buy ant traps on my next grocery run.
My exercise routine saw me cycle for 1hr 15 min on my indoor trainer. I watched tv the entire time and listened to my tummy growl with interest. I got hungry quicker today. I am still fasting intermittently until 12am but I suspect it’s because I ate a white roll the night before. Refined carbs always seem to make me hungry, quicker. I also tried lifting some weights, but then I started taking pictures of myself and that workout soon fell apart. I would also commit to doing a yoga class on Monday. I’m not particularly fond of yoga but I will try it to shake things up a little.
I made prawns curry for lunch and it was so good. Instead of using my usual Durban spices I used Cayenne Pepper because it has so many immune-boosting qualities. Woolies sells large frozen prawns with the shell and you get roughly 45 in a bag. I particularly love this brand because the bag is zip-locked and you can take out how ever many prawns you want and freeze the rest. I only used 16 prawns yesterday and that’s usually two meals for me. I boiled two tiny sweet potatoes for a mash that I will eat tomorrow with my prawns at lunchtime.
The rest of the day was beautiful up until I started developing a headache. I have a feeling it’s because of the position I read in. I usually sit in my couch, cross-legged, book in the left hand, with my head way down just like guilty puppy. What made my headache worse was the crying toddler who lives beneath me. This little girl is not even three but she screams like a 10-year-old. Complex living is complex, but I wish that developers could include some sound proofing into the walls of conjoined flats. For our sanity.
I climbed into bed a little after 8 o’clock exhausted from continuous screaming wafting up through the floors of my apartment. I put on Frank Sinatra and timed that for an hour before closing my eyes and thanking God for all His mercies.
PS. Yesterday I mentioned that my daily devotional told me not to read my Bible. Well, I finally continued reading my devotional today and it wasn’t what I thought. The author meant don’t read the Bible out of duty, but rather with a purpose.
‘In other words, I needed to look at the words in the Bible as a love letter. God’s love letter to a broken-down girl. A love letter not meant to simply be read… but a love letter mean to be lived.
‘So, back to my original statement. Stop reading your Bible. In other words, stop simply reading it because you have to cross it off the Christian checklist. Instead, read it with great expectations of connecting more deeply and living more authentically with God.’ - Embraced - 100 Devotions to know God is holding you close by Lysa TerKeurst.
