What to Do During a Lockdown

It is four weeks since schools closed in Liguria province in Italy. We have had just over two weeks of almost total isolation.We greet our neighbors and chat to them through the gate in our limited Italian. We stand in line at the grocery store, greet the security guard at the entrance, and the cashier, but otherwise it has been my husband, our two year old son and I alone together for two weeks. It has been easy and hard, and everything in between. Most days are fine but, if you have small children, or had them, then you know bedtime never comes soon enough when they’ve had the stimulation of school, other children, and an afternoon session at the park. When you don’t have those things… the day is loooong. Equally, this time with just my husband and I and our son is so precious and rare, that I know, we will look back fondly on this time.

Our first means of coping is giving each other time for a quiet time with God in the morning. We pray for each other, for our son, for the strength, grace and peace for the day, for our families, for our countries. My husband and I grew up in South Africa and have spent so many years traveling that the USA is as fond to us as the UK, as Italy, as Zimbabwe, and the Caribbean. We have family in Canada and Australia. So we pray for these nations and our friends and family within them. We read a devotional or do a structured bible study. At the moment I just so happen to be working through Lysa Terkeust’s: Trustwothy, a study on the books of Kings. To be studying the lack of trust in the Kings of Israel and God’s faithfulness during this time is bringing me much revelation. I stumbled across the site: crosswalk.com. I am going to read their article: “A Mighty Prayer Plan for Hope, Strength and Healing in this Time” every morning before I get out of bed because I get weighed down, the same as you I expect, by bad news, the fears and anxieties of others, the daily repetitiveness, the uncertainty, our plans that have been changed, and changed, and changed again. Then, I think about those living on the breadline and the homeless. This also crushes me with the immensity of the problems in society… It all becomes a burden so large that I crumble sometimes: shouting at our child, snapping at my husband, collapsing in tears, stomping around for hours in a “mood”. I heard a psychotherapist on Sky News say: “Don’t expect to get it right all the time.” Basically, give each other, and yourself, grace. It certainly does make one think about people like Anne Frank, cooped up in an attic for two years in Nazi occupied Holland. Also, the Londoners who went through the Blitz, especially if they had young kids! Our ancestors must look at us and think we are a bunch of sissies, all we have to do is hang out in our nice homes for a few months, at the most.

There is a lot of advice out there but maybe you’d like mine too?

Here are my suggestions on what to do during a lockdown:

Turn your heart and mind to Jesus, every morning and as often as you can all day.
Listen to great music. We start the day with Christian music.
Exercise once a day – youtube videos are great for this. Check out “Katy Dynamic Pilates”; “Sarah Beth Yoga” and “Heather Robertson Low Impact”.
Listen to audio books.
Take naps (what happens when you listen to audio books).
Journal.
Follow uplifting people/ groups on instagram like: “upworthy” and “goodnews_movement.”
Download the aljazeera news app to your phone – it is so interesting to actually see news about the third world with a different “spin”. I promise it won’t turn you in to a terrorist. It’s actually really good reporting.
Take walks, if possible. We live in the countryside and can take walks without coming in to contact with anyone else.
Do craft projects. Paint, knit, sew, do online photo albums of the family, scrap book. Today my toddler and I made play dough: 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of fine salt,1 cup of water (adjust as necessary), then we made a press of his hand, cut it out with a bowl, painted it and baked it in the oven. It will always remind us of this time. Whatever takes your fancy.
Clean out/ tidy your drawers, garage, cupboards.
Do your own nails. Give yourself a pedicure, buy your heel scrubber, foot cream, etc at the grocery store.
Learn/ try some new recipes. Watch the cooking channel for ideas and tips. I learned how to chop onions properly watching Jamie Oliver and it changed my life!
Watch feel-good, classic movies like Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Lord of The Rings, Back to the Future, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins…
Watch series like “Chef” and “Jan” – full of beautiful cinematography and gorgeous food.
Do some gardening.
Buy potted plants and/ or cut flowers at the grocery store – nothing like flowers and plants in a home to make you feel more cheerful.
Give yourself an at-home facial – buy exfoliator and a mask at the grocery store.
Do a hair mask.
Give yourself one sugary treat a day – I had a bowl of Hagen Daas Espresso, brownie macchiato ice cream after lunch today. Yesterday we, my toddler and I… well, he ate the mixture and made a mess, baked a chocolate cake, so I had that yesterday.
Limit/ give up alcohol – it really doesn’t help.
Read. Right now I am reading, Martyn Lloyd-Jones: “The Cross” and Patti Callahan: “Becoming Mrs Lewis“
Become a World Vision child sponsor for $39 a month. You select your child and become their pen pal. Your monthly amount will uplift a community and your messages to your sponsored child will give them encouragement. You will also become a World Vision sponsor who operates in disaster relief and community upliftment all around the world.

Walks near our home

Craft projects with homemade play dough

Queues outside the store