HOME ALONE – AGAIN!

HOME ALONE – AGAIN!

My lessons learned from Covid

My family has been fortunate enough to be cleared of Covid for almost 3 years.?However, at the most unsuspecting time, and especially when my dear son was about to start his major school examinations, he was finally tested ART positive and diagnosed with Covid by the doctor.?Sadly, a few days later, my spouse was also diagnosed with Covid.?

Going through the pains of keeping myself clear of Covid, cleaning the house constantly, doing the laundry twice a day, coordinating communications between my son's school teacher and his examinations, caring for him by preparing his meals, administering medicine and encouraging him to drink lots of fluids throughout the day, I managed to survive Covid!

Here are some thoughts from my experience:

(a)???Be comfortable with surprises – Whilst we'd tried our best not to contract Covid, it was a matter of time that one of us in the family would’ve succumbed to this virus.?At first, I was a little angry with the situation.?All our intentional efforts avoiding crowded areas, not meeting people face-to-face unnecessarily, eating in more than eating out, practising all forms of extra personal hygiene and care were futile.?However, taking a step back, I’d decided that I was going to turn this “unfortunate experience” into “something good”.?

After all, that’s life, isn’t it??A little spontaneity and surprise make life less predictable and more interesting, too.

Being home alone has helped us bond as a family.?My son was isolated in the bedroom while my husband had checked himself into a hotel.?These were acts of love to protect me from the virus (me being a cancer survivor).?We had our “Zoom” cameras on and video called each other as often as we could, especially during meal times when we tried to “synchronise eating together” as a family.

(b)???Never take things for granted – As part of my daily routine, I wore my mask 24 hours (even when asleep except for meals and bathing), used disposable gloves all the time to prepare meals, clean the toilets, do the laundry and even type on my son’s laptop to turn it on or off. Disposable cutlery was used for his meals, as well as plates, bowls and cups as often as possible.?Rubbish was carefully removed with another pair of disposable gloves and tied up tightly in plastic bags.?I felt like a spaceman or an operating theatre nurse the whole day.?We changed our clothes as often as we could, aired the house with the ceiling fan on for hours, used disinfectant spray and washed our hands every other time.?

Frankly, I’d accumulated so much trash of disposable gloves, tissues, paper towels and cutlery throughout but I was adamant not to take things for granted and allow seemingly small lapses in my “hygiene routine”.?

Simply put - what could go wrong, will go wrong.

?(c)????Nice but not necessary – This recent Covid experience has again reminded me that there are many things out there that are “nice to have” but “not necessary”.?I brought in a keyboard, a laptop, a small potted plant and a tiny aquarium with 1 fish (yes!) to accompany my son.?Furthermore, I’d stayed home with him throughout the 7 - 9 days; resorting to online grocery shopping, home cooking as well as working from home.?We didn’t need to go out, ate simple meals and spent our time resting, chatting, reading, watching and listening to music.

Isolation at home has taught me that we can actually survive with very little.?It’s the simple things that matter which bring meaning to our lives.

According to my son, going through Covid has taught him to treasure the simple pleasures in life - the ability to walk freely in the house, to eat what he feels like eating, to sleep peacefully and to be able to hug us.?It wasn’t the PlayStation, restaurant meals or expensive things like clothes, shoes or travelling that he had missed.????

(Of course, there are many other lessons learned from this experience, however, these are my 3 favourite ones.?I’m sure you’ll have your own list, too.)

Today, we ‘emerged’ from Covid and went out of the house to a nearby shopping centre to buy new sleeping pillows and have something nice to eat.?Ironically, with this breath of fresh air and freedom, we somehow didn’t feel comfortable staying out for long, and decided then that we were instead, all too eager to return to our home alone - again.??