Learning curve.

As our last full day in quarantine crawls slowly to an end I have been thinking about all the things I will try not to forget about this experience and especially all the things I will try not to take for granted in future…

Washing machines are an awesome invention.  So are those big fold-out airers and tumble dryers.  Washing stuff by hand is overrated and tiring.  For the first few days, you try to pretend you’re some peasant woman down by a stream just beating those clothes against the rocks like you see them do in the movies.  For the next few days, you start to realise that it’s not nearly as fun as it looked on the movies and that no matter how hard you scrub some clothes stay just a little bit whiffy….(mmm!)

A breeze.  Wind of any speed and quantity really.  Fresh air blowing in my general direction is something I’ve missed.  The background hiss of the a/c just isn’t the same and whether it’s cold, hot, or anything in between I’ve realised I miss an actual real-life breeze.

Weather in general.  Living in the sealed hotel room means we have observed sun, cloud, and rain through the glass of the window.  Whether it’s a hot day that makes you melt, a cold day that makes you stamp your feet, or a rainy day that gives you trench foot I miss the weather.  The constant not-quite-cold-not-quite-hot-sameness of the hotel room only adds to the unreal feeling of it all.

Walking.  I do love to walk.  I tend to walk pretty much everywhere whenever I can.  I miss that.  I can walk up and down the room as much as I like but nothing beats putting trainers on, headphones in ears, and striding off in one direction for an extended period of time.

Privacy.  As someone who usually spends the bulk of her day on her own this experience has been….testing, shall we say.  Things came to a head yesterday and there were some tears and tantrums – from me, Teen and Hubby!  Chocolate and hugs made it all better but it’s testament to how close we are as a family that we haven’t killed each other and hid the body in a hazmat bag full of rice. And if that sounds like I’ve been thinking about it then….yes. You can sit in a corner with your headphones on or even in the bath with the door closed but nothing beats having the place to yourself.  Teen has done well to put up with being in a room with his elders for so long but now we all need our own space.  There’s only so many times I can put my head down the toilet and flush it as I scream.  Not that I’ve done that.  Yet…

A view.  We’re luckier than most in that respect.  We look out over the ‘exciting’ car park, monorail and a highway.  We can stand at the window for hours and judge people’s parking ability, or laugh at their scooter versus pedestrian moments or flash our food bellies at the passing monorail passengers.  Lucky us.  But now I look forward to having more than one window, a choice of views, how very spoilt of me!

A chance to switch off.  I am not by nature a people person.  Shocking, right?  You’d never have thought that about me.  I have a point where I just need/want everyone (even those I love dearly, sometimes especially those I love dearly) to go the fuck away and stay the fuck away for their own good.  That point is now waaaaay back behind me in the rearview mirror.  I don’t want to have to smile or laugh or chat or look like I’m interested in stuff.  I want to just switch off and do nothing.  Zone out.  Put on my resting bitch face and go with the flow.

Soon…

Tomorrow we check out, get picked up by the school bus, and head to our new apartment.  Then we are free to unpack, wash clothes properly, open any one of our many windows, go for a walk, be in a room on our own, and ignore each other.

Oh, the total and utter freaking bliss.

I would like to think I will remember what this has been like and learn from it to grow as a human being and be more thankful every day for the little things that make my life comfortable.

But in reality, I give it a week before I’m blogging about how I keep getting rained on or it’s too darn hot.

Until then I’ll get on with packing and look forward to a heady taste of freedom tomorrow…wish me luck!