Day 11/14 in self isolation begins. I miss running. Before the craziness of this kicked in, I was struggling with my running, half heartedly training for a marathon that has now been cancelled. I chose not to run more often than not when I had a choice. Now when I don’t have a choice, all I want to do is run. Run slowly, but run. You only appreciate what you take for granted when it is snatched away from you.
Our family is strong. We have rallied round and stuck together. Routines have been established and memories created. Memories which we can take with us into an uncertain future. I spot Adam in our garage gym and Fionnuala and I watch a movie every night; Rebecca decides to dye her hair purple with hilarious consequences; Hannah meditates with her musical heroes on Instagram. Little things but precious all the same. We are together and safe.
The news is cloyingly addictive, car crash television from which we cannot look away. The figures rise as we powerlessly watch. 13 dead now in Northern Ireland and over 750 in the United Kingdom as a whole. Nothing compared to the likes of Italy and Spain yet massive and monumental all the same. They say the surge is coming and we are not prepared. There seems no light at the end of this toxic tunnel. All we can do is look on helplessly.
It is unstoppable. Man can’t stop it, God can’t stop it or doesn’t care to. Our Prime Minister is sick, our Health Secretary is sick, the heir to the throne is sick. Nobody is safe. And all we can do is watch, car crash television that slowly sucks the last dregs of hope from your marrow. I’m reading a lot, working on the book, diving into fantasy in order to escape the horrific, bizarre, reality of today, tomorrow, of now. This is 2020 and this is all we know now.
Black Thoughts 
I believe God can create Good from this. Keep enjoying those family moments xo
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Thank you 🙂
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I’d say He already has. Look at how many people are appreciating the simple things in life compared to a few weeks ago.
The bigger question is will this be yet another lesson that humanity is quick to forget?
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I’m glad you’re all safe and well. And it is interesting to see what people do when there’s nothing else to do… Hopefully you will be free to run in a few days. It’ll be a wonderful feeling. 😊
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Thank you. How are things in Switzerland?
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Evocative piece of writing.
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Thank you.
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Why can’t you run? People are jogging here & I live in NY State. Cuomo said that jogging was good exercise & you can be 6 feet away from other people when you are running. I can’t run due to my arthritic knees (& I always hated running anyway) but I walk every day. I would go crazy if I had to be indoors 24/7.
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I’m in 14 day self isolation. Not allowed out of the house, even to exercise.
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Wish you fast and smooth recovery, it is getting worse day by day for sure for everyone all around the globe, but hope is still there lingering in everyone’s heart and this time humanity will for sure overcome this but we will never forget the moment we all are going through and never ever, will we take anything for granted. 👍👍
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Thank you very much. Stay safe 🙂
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Liking the good parts. Praying the ‘surge’ is not as bad as the predictions. Hugs!
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Thank you. Stay safe 🙂
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I feel you on the running – I can’t run due to a severe injury and I can’t even do any other kind of cardio because I have such bad bronchitis right now. I really took running for granted when I was able to and now I’m kicking myself 😛
I’m so glad to hear you and yours are safe and creating rituals and memories in this new normal. You’re almost done with quarantine so I hope you get to go out and have a lovely run soon!!
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Thank you very much. I’m sorry to hear this. My son tore his ACL is September so I know how tough a serious injury can be.
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Im sorry to hear about your son’s injury I hope he gets well soon, those ACL tears are awful but he’s got a good chance of full recovery. Not like this old fogey lol 😂
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Thank you very much for your kind words.
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I’m sorry you can’t run Stephen. I bet Rebecca’s hair looks awesome. Purple hair is cool. I agree these times are depressing. The news is a constant stream of sickness and death. You’re right that it doesn’t seem there’s any light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. You’re not the only one with a fractured faith.
Stay well, Black family.
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Thank you. And the same to you 😊
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Well, I have to say something. Your words struck me. The sentence God can’t or just won’t. Um ugh. I see the desperation in your writing. May I encourage you to read in the book of Psalm, any chapter, I like 91, but all are good. God, who created this world is certainly capable of destroying this Coronavirus. There is nothing too hard for Him. I believe He will use this for His glory to bring many souls to His kingdom. Everything has a season and just when you think it couldn’t get any worse, the Light will come. We, as believers, are instructed to keep our eyes on Jesus not on the news. Our God CAN do anything. He hears the prayers of the righteous. He will answer our cries. In the middle of this storm, praise Him. Praise Him for your life. Praise Him for the lives of Your family members. Listen to Casting Crowns singing I will praise You in this storm. The Father seeketh such to worship Him in spirit and in truth. May I encourage you to worship Him today. Make His name shine in your darkness. Don’t give up the faith. Believe! All things are possible to him who believes. Speak to this mountain to move bow down before the Lord and let Him calm the storm.
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Thank you for sharing what’s going on there. We are on a “shelter in place” order, but as an essential business I still go to the farm daily. Last week I was unable to get out because of the rain. Although I stayed quite busy the first two or three days, by day 6 I was struggling with boredom an depression. I can only imagine what self-quarantine must be like. Hang in there. I pray you get to run soon! Our thoughts are with you.
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Thank you very much. You guys stay safe as well 😊
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I’m glad you’re all keeping safe and your family is making good memories.
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Thank you Deborah. Hope you are also safe & well.
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Yes! It’s a car crash. And our horrible man named president is a vindictive evil man. Every day is something different. I switch to our hallmark channel and now they are showing Christmas movies that they played adnauseum during the fall and past Christmas. Glad you all are safe at home and gettin well. We are safe at home too.
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Thank you Ruth. You too 🙂
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Your post reminded me of something, a question. Why do bad things happen to good people?
That question was posed to the late Evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman. She thought for a moment then said, “that’s a very good question, it will be the first one I will ask God when I see Him.”
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Thank you for you thought provoking quote.
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I am so glad to read you’re all okay and making beautiful memories – that’s what life is all about. I am limiting myself to reading not more than two news stories a day – have to protect my mental health. This is a bit of a challenge as I am somewhat of a news hunky. I am praying for the peoples of the world as this thing spreads its evil everywhere – time for a hero, maybe Skelly can take it on and figure it all out for us. Stay healthy, Stay safe.
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Thank you Carol. The same to you and your family. I know, it’s hard not to watch the news at the minute.
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I don’t much watch the news as read it – not a fan of t.v. news casts – they just don’t give the whole picture. Even reading news stories I find I have to read a lot of different sources to get a sense of what’s happening. There is so much conflicting information I have to try to pick credible sources. I am thankful atm for my journalism training and for the communication courses I took while working on my degree. These are very challenging times for sure. Take good care of yourself.
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Thank you. You too. Keep blogging 😳
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Writing is my saving grace at most times but more than ever these days.
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Me too 🙂
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And you do so beautifully. 🙂
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I miss running as well. We’ve been staying in for nearly as long as you, but no definite symptoms or orders to do so.
The stores around here are slowly recovering their stock, even toilet paper, with more people finally staying home. Honestly, I still don’t understand why so many are still going out or feel it’s a good idea to travel and visit and such. They’re just dragging the time of isolation out for everyone else.
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I’m glad you guys are being sensible. Please continue to do so.
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It is a scary time right now. Stay safe.
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Thank you Amanda.
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So are you not running outside at all due to being afraid of getting sick? Even with a big distance between you and others? I ask because my family is torn on the exercise issue. Some run, some don’t. I hike still. But I feel… waffly about it.
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No. We were told to totally self isolate for two weeks by our doctor. No running allowed.
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Sending love from New Zealand ❤️
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Thank you.
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sending love from Aus
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Thank you. Stay safe.
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Thanks for checking out my blog previously, I was wanting to say, it was nice to meet another writer through the WordPress thing. You should have plenty of time to spend indoors writing?? These days that is. Thanks for your interest.
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You’re welcome Pete. Good to connect with other writers always. Hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe.
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This post rang true for me on a few levels. Definitely a ‘car crash’ situation, I keep watching the news, reading the updates etc, because I feel I need to know what is going on. But then I have to stop. It gets too much, too scary, too horrible. But then I have to watch and read again in case I’ve missed out on some important piece of information. Then, it gets too much again. It is such a rollercoaster at the moment. I’ve been reading a lot more too, so I don’t have to think about it all the time. Stay safe, and glad you and your family are feeling better. 🙂
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Thank you Jenni. You too. I know, the news is horribly addictive at present. Escaping into a good book can alleviate stress levels. Thinking of you and your family 🙂
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