Yellow Azalea

Thursday 9 April – Day 15

Another day at home – no surprises there! Mitchell and I went out for a couple of walks, and on our morning walk we went down to Takanini Village. Mitchell likes to go there, and normally we visit The Warehouse and sometimes pick up a DVD or a book, and always a packet of baby wipes. Mitch has many quirks and routines, which we associate with his autism, and he always goes straight to the aisle with baby wipes in any grocery, dairy, petrol station or warehouse shop. His memory of where they are in each shop is exact, so when supermarkets make merchandising changes this will often upset his shopping experience. When we go out for a walk using the wheelchair, he gives me directions of where he wants to go by pointing, and during lockdown he has been asking to go to The Warehouse. Of course, The Warehouse is currently closed, but we go anyway, and then he can see for himself.

At times like this I wonder just how much Mitchell understands about the pandemic and what his understanding of lockdown is. We have had to make so many changes to his routines and as more than half his team are in isolation and unable to come to work, his schedule is all over the place. How he feels about it remains a mystery.

Our second walk of the day was in a different direction, and probably the highlight of Mitchell’s day as it rained while we were out. I haven’t seen him that happy in ages. Mouth open, trying to catch the drops, hands flapping and feet flying. He certainly loves water.

Friday 10 April – Day 16

Yesterday in the media there were a couple of articles about how well NZ is doing in trying to restrict/eliminate Covid-19. A lot of high praise for the way our government is handling the pandemic, and while I think they are doing a good job, it felt a bit like the ‘commentator’s curse’. Sure enough we had an additional death today, a person that was elderly and high risk for being able to combat this virus. I really feel for any family who loses a loved one during this pandemic (for any reason) as they will not be able to say their farewells.

Good Friday for us is traditionally spent with Phil’s family and we have a very festive picnic at Totara Park, with a treasure hunt and games for the kids. That was not to be this year, Good Friday here was a just a quiet day at home. I did get to spend some time in my scraproom, and while I didn’t make any exceptional pages, I did finish off a couple of pocket pages from our trip up North last year.

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I made scones for lunch – they were more like cheese biscuits, but I tried. Holly and I watched The Fisher King (Jeff Bridges, Robin Williams) and Legally Blonde (Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson). Two very different movies, and I enjoyed both of them.

Saturday 11 April – Day 17

Today NZ has reached 1312 cases of Corona Virus and we had 2 more deaths. Our total is now 4. Worldwide there are now over 100,000 and in some places they are having to do mass graves. Australia still seems to be reacting very slowly to tightening up on social/physical distancing compared to here – it very much seems to be those countries with federal systems have more difficulty getting a unified approach. I feel grateful to live here, but I am still nervous for our future and whether we need to be in lockdown longer than the 4 weeks.

I feel like the visuals are helping him adjust to the changes in routine and while I resisted using them at home for a long time, it seems to help (a little) especially when we can’t follow our usual routines.

Stay home and stay safe.

Cherie xx