Not much is happening. That's the lockdown life for you.
So it's been a week (or, uhmm, two?) since we were plunged into another lockdown. Which is such a shame, considering how well we managed things last spring. A year ago everyone was really reasonable and stayed at home and we beat the beast rather quickly. Now, on the other hand, Estonia is on the top of every depressing Covid infections' list, the hospitals are full to bursting and things just don't seem to get any better. But, oh, there is another difference between this spring and the last one, a good one - and that is the glorious and faint pain I still feel in my left top arm from the Covid jab. I got my shot some two weeks ago and it proved what it needed to prove - my immune system is strong and fighting. After the jab, I had to stay in bed for two days with high temperature and with everything in my body hurting as if hit by a train. Or as my close colleague put it when I inquired about her health the day after our jab - it's like having been beaten up behind a bar. Quite accurate, that description, or so I imagine. But as the AstraZeneca guys promised, the side effects disappeare by the end of the second day. I'm glad they kept their promise. And no, I didn't have any blood clots. Just so you know.
The school has fully moved back to Zoomland and I'm very tired of it. It sucks the energy out of you - just as normal school life would - but it doesn't give you anything back. In normal circumstances, the kids give me so much. But now I feel like an empty bag, dragging myself from one Zoom class to another. It's tough.
Last week I didn't meet a soul, and by the end of the week I felt like losing my tiny precious mind. So I have taken better care of myself this week. I have met up with two friends outdoors, and I even popped by the conference office the other day, and it did me much good to chat with the office guys. I was also reminded I need to start thinking about the coming summer and my decision about going back to church office - The Conversation with the conference president taking place next week - so that gives a kind of forward momentum to this still-life of ours.
The libraries are all closed and that's a pity since it has forced me to read Kindle books (I'm too old-school - or just old - for e-books). But, on a brighter note, thanks to the Kindle business I am reading the first theological book in a long time. It's Tish Harrison Warren's beautiful Prayer in the Night - a balm to my soul. I recommend! And in the evenings when I'm not reading or listening to my audio Bible, I'm watching some British tv series (I'm totally homesick for the UK) and am developing a little crush on James Norton. Classic.
But the spring is coming! The days are getting longer and snow is in retreat and the birds have picked up their spring tunes. And if I manage to dodge the virus for another month or so, I should be safe. In other words, "all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."
