Its been two weeks now since our Kenyan government announced its first Covid-19 case. I will not even dare go into details of what this virus is all about. I have had enough of familiarization of it and am sure you reading this has had an over indulgence from the overwhelming social media updates all over.
Anyways, I have been at home with my immediate family doubling, no tripling, actually quadrupling many tasks. See I lost my long time serving help-at-home (nanny / domestic manager) in December last year to her newly found spouse.(Post for another day.) As such I have been wearing and playing many of her hats including housekeeping chores like dish washing, cooking,laundry amongst a few. But I have also doubled as a teacher to my children, wife to my husband, home nurse, business partner, prayer warrior to mention a few.
These chores have left me drained, not that am complaining.I wouldn't change anything major in the near future.
So anxiety knocked at our mind doors and somehow managed to sneak in without our notice. Sleeping till 11am hasn't been anything unusual, playing kati, msongesho, snakes and ladder, monopoly, chess, draughts among other games has helped ease the anxiety.
I hear the new terminology of staying indoors is called "Cabin fever" . To beat this, my family has indulged in a trekking routine (about 8 -10 kms) once a week when the weather permits.
We have also discovered many ways of producing a meal using potatoes. You see being a kikuyu lady, practically every meal / dish is cooked using "warus" But well, we have had to go to Dr. You tube to find us some new potato recipes otherwise the monotony of the usual mkikuyu waru broth would bore us to eternity.
But in reality, what is it that you can do to cope with the pressure of this pandemic and its worldwide effects? I found the following to help:
- Talk Therapy (whether on a social level or professional one with a trained counselor or therapist. I am lucky I have many girlfriends I can call on and they would listen to my rants just as I would listen to them on their bad days. I also have a personal Counselor who I escalate matters mental purely for direction.
- Exercise. Find a comfortable routing and exhale out any negative energy. Skipping helps a lot and its a common one. Planks, seat ups, jog within your living room if you are void of a garden or compound. Anything that makes you sweat is worthwhile.
- A long walk: Observing all social distancing and hygiene precautions, a walk while playing your favorite play list or motivational talks helps you shed some calories as well as well is keep your cholesterol low.
- Enrol on an online class: Whether it is a language course, musical instruments, business / entrepreneurial or any course you have wanted to enroll in but haven`t found time to would be helpful. The long term benefit of this would be brain engagement that is known to reduce early onset of dementia.
- Bury yourself into a fiction novel or any written articles/ genre of your choice. Reading is one of my escape hideouts. I can lock myself for days in my world of fictional books. One of my favorite is by Francine Rivers (A christian fiction author) I have read most of her books. Paul Coelho is another category.
- Garden: Whether pot gardening or kitchen garden. It is very therapeutic and you will have organically grown vegetables or produce from the effort of your hands. I found the following pinterest garden ideas inspirational.
What have you done with your time while on the global lock down?
