Life in the Covid Bubble

How has your life, and way of living in general, changed since “Lockdown Life” began a year ago? Are there parts of your life that have changed for the better? Anything that will stick, even when life gets back to “normal”?

Brenda Chapman 

This has been a crazy year as we approach twelve months of Covid isolation. It was the second week of March, 2020, when our federal government put Canadians into our first lockdown. Since the, we've alternated between total and partial shutdown, staying close to home, rarely going out socially except to shop for groceries and get haircuts.

So has anything changed for the better?

The pace of life slowed down. We had not much to do and all day to do it in. Once spring came last year, we spent a lot of time outside with two other couples who live across the street. We socially distanced our lawn chairs and whiled away many an hour. I began walking in the evenings with the two women, something we plan to do again once the nice weather starts.

I spent a lot of time in my garden starting in May and through the summer and fall. My husband commented that the garden was 'a pleasure' in August -- usually it's way past its peak come the end of July. I've already ordered some plants for spring planting so I imagine I'll be spending lots of time out there weeding and watering again this year.

Being outside more was definitely a result of Covid isolation and I imagine this will continue post-Covid. My husband tarped over our back deck and we bought a fire pit and heat lamps and spent some time out there through the winter. We even celebrated New Year's Eve out there with those same neighbours and my daughter's February birthday. 

Trying to stay warm on a cold February morning

I had more time to read and write as a result of having nowhere to go. I also began a more regular exercise regime in the mornings ... never a bad thing. This gave a bookend to my day that helped me to sleep better.

I discovered the joy of online shopping and free shipping. I imagine this will continue long after everything opens up again. One click and a crate of wine shows up two days later. Who knew?

Zoom has kept us tethered to people and I've used it to visit with friends and family in town and far away. I've also begun interviewing authors from my Ottawa/Eastern Ontario region and posting these videos on the Crime Writers of Canada site, something I never would have contemplated before Covid. I'll continue to use Zoom to connect with people far away long after Covid ends and perhaps do more book marketing on social media.

All in all though, life has gotten smaller and more compact. Too compact in some ways. I worry that it will be hard to break this daily routine of never straying far from home or making plans with people. Like many authors, the solitary life falls within my comfort zone. Yet, I'm also eager to be back out in the world, seeing friends and family in their homes, travelling, eating in restaurants without fear of getting sick, attending book events. If Covid has done anything, it's taught me not to take human contact and these simple pleasures for granted ever again.

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