Crazy Cat Lady Chapter 4 - The Aftermath

ladyholly

So sorry you are struggling at the moment. Things are tough at present but nothing lasts for ever.

dawnybabes

We will get through this, it’s just another blip - you’ve survived worse than this and will come through this 

Chrystal

Relieved to hear from you CCL
Yes the whole situation is !!!!!!, and it may get worse before it gets better... but it will get better. ((hugs))

Buffythedebtslayer

sending you love CCL xx lots of love XXX 

crazy_cat_lady

I will be going out for a walk today. Just me and dd. It's something we need to do, and as far as I can find out I am ok with that as long as we are not with other people. We need to be doing stuff to tire us out and pass the time a bit. I can't see a problem with a walk about as long as we stay away from potentially busy places. Although there is a massive part of me wondering why I bother. I still have to go to work, and right up until Friday I was at work with 700 kids and 60+ other staff - and I am at work tomorrow looking after other people's kids. I have no problem with this other than that I don't benefit from any of these early shopping hours that the vulnerable and nhs staff are getting. I'm not wanting to stockpile but I do need a couple of bits if I can get them - washing up liquid and milk (again - we use a lot of milk but it's just not anywhere at the moment) being the main two. I know we'll survive without them but I feel like an utter failure as a mother that I can't cater to some of my kids basic needs when it comes to food and mental health. Ah well. It's still a new situation for us all and everyone is struggling.
Other than that we're going to sit and make some plans for the week ahead - I have the planner ready to go, with the day divided up. We may not be able to get out and about as usual, and we may not have everything we want foodwise, but we will make do with what we have. We have plenty of tv, books, online workouts, decluttering, cleaning and tidying we can be getting on with. 
Stay safe people. It's a strange world.

Honeysucklelou2

Enjoy your walk CCL - thinking of you.

mothernerd

Hugs ccl. We will get through this (well most of us anyway - sorry my really black sense of homour has got me through a lot). Will be writing more when I settle into the new reality of my life. The past week has all been about relocating to mum's bungalow - we are both in at risk groups (can you be in multiple at risk groups?) and even if I wasn't, I couldn't leave mum to be on her own for 12 weeks.

So every day it's been an hour or so of frantic packing (this is real work, DS3 even told me to wipe my forehead when I sat down to get breath, as I was 'shiny'. I've brought all my clothes (including a bag of still damp stuff and a bag of 'too smelly to wear again but just throw it in the corner and wash it when I'm safely installed in the bungalow'. Ditto for the sheets off my bed and the towel on the bath rail).

All my sewing stuff (embroidery for my self-employment - not even thinking about the ramifications of that yet and will resume the fight to recover my WTC which they've erroneously decided I'm not entitled to - could live without it if I had to but they want me to pay back the past 2 years worth which is over £5,000. Good luck with that, because I don't have it). All my paperwork but two box files (historic/ dead file - if I need them, they are easy enough to describe as everything else has been gathered/ put in the recycle sack.

Full complement of library books plus a few bags for life full done on quick cs raids. Brought all the food I had in, that DS3 and his gf will not touch (gf doesn't do wholemeal or lentils and the only veg she will touch are peas and peppers, DS3 will eat all veg, lentils etc provided it's hidden in curry/ covered in gravy but gf is doing his cooking, my frozen fish are always safe and I have tinned butter/ kidney/cannellini beans (bought when they were 20p in the world food aisle but already donated some to a friend of a friend with a coeliac daughter). All my herbs/ spices/ storage jars as mum is a 'jar of sauce person' and I have things I needed for cooking from scratch.

As much garden stuff as I could (mum has stopped gardening in favour of it being 'tidy' - including the abomination of plastic flowers). I have ordered and received a polytunnel and will go in there when being together 24 hours a day becomes unbearable). I love her dearly but we both need alone time too. Plus toiletries, medicine (prescription and over the counter)

Roughly 8 bags for life worth of stuff brought every time I've come here this week (and a trolley with 5 more things just behind the front door - they wouldn't fit in the taxi on Friday (second run) and I hope to go back for them at some point when there will be as few people around as possible and my muscles have stopped hurting.

Really grateful that I won't have to skirt the patrons of the 8 pubs and clubs en route (not sure about the similar number of takeaways- are they only doing deliveries) and really hope they haven't decided to congregate on the car park behind my house or the bus station - banned but it has seats.

Massive hugs ccl, look after yourself and your loved ones, prioritise your mental health (it includes drinking enough water, eating healthily, exercise, quiet time and crocheting), let things settle then sort out the next batch of to dos.

f0xh0les

I can kind of solve the chocolate problem - https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Chocolate-With-Cocoa-Powder  I would suggest dd does it, and everyone can have a daily chocolate ration - like rum in the navy.  You might have the stuff in the cupboards already.

The  exam money situation is sad, but there will be more kids sitting the A level exam in 12 months time I suspect. It is all well and good the govt saying the teachers can grade the kids, but realistically, would it not be better to either run an intensive  4 month refresher course and do exams in Dec/Jan, like the higher ed colleges do for those who failed unexpectedly,  or just rerun the whole year.  Ok they would be a year older, but they would also have had the opportunity to work over the spring and summer and put a bit of money by.  They would learn better, be better behaved and motivated after a few months stacking shelves, well, they would if they were anything like I was.

I am dreading going shopping. The milkman is doing a roaring trade round here, I didn't even know we had one.  The market is still full of fruit, veg and meat. I think it may be time to abandon the major supermarkets and try something more old fashioned.

Masses of hugs from us (day 6 of self isolation) who are going totally bonkers being stuck in the house and worrying about what is going to be in the shops when I venture out again. 

I am totally reminded why I did not do a PGCE .  Not even remotely tempted.   You however are the sole reason the doctors and nurses and social workers and police and ambulance drivers can get to work. You.  So it may feel like babysitting, but you are keeping people alive.  How cool are you!!!

Getting out into the fresh air and sunshine will be good for you. 

Happy Mothers' Day.

foxgloves

Great idea to get out for a walk, CCL. It's good for fitness as well as mental health. As long as you stay away from groups of people & stand 3 metres back if you meet anyone who tries to chat, you should be fine. Mr F has already decided he's going on a brisk walk around our village & riverside everyday while his work is shut down. He doesn't do well being indoors all the time. And as for this 'bad mother' nonsense.... that's what it is & you can knock it on the head right now! This is completely unchartered territory for all of us & it is deeply worrying & upsetting. The news from Italy made me cry last night & I am generally made of pretty tough stuff. Regarding groceries, could you book in a delivery for whenever you can get one, even if it is 3 weeks or a month away? I'm just thinking that even if you continue to find it difficult to stock up locally, you'd know that there is an order booked. These are very difficult times though & it may be that your children might have to accept there is limited breaded chicken to be had. I think all of us will be having to work our way around the shortages. Bread flour is going to be the difficult one for me. Re milk, is it possible to get yourself on a milk delivery round? We did that last year to avoid plastic cartons. It's a Scottish dairy but if it delivers as far down as us, it may well include your area? I know some dairies have been overwhelmed with requests recently, but it might just be worth investigating? It's all managed online & very easy to do. They also deliver lovely orange juice in glass bottles & eggs. I'm just thinking of possibilities. I will need to get outside today too for sure. I hope you enjoy your walk with DD. We are all going to have to make the best of this dreadful situation because there is no alternative.
Take care, 
F x

Honeysucklelou2

Another option for milk that I’ve seen locally is self service machine within some small shops. You can buy a glass bottle and fill it with milk from the dispenser. Initial outlay to buy the glass bottle but positive for no waste and able to recycle.