Cork

I had a few bits and pieces to do today. I had to plan my second last chemistry lesson for tomorrow, I had lots of washing to do, I walked to the post office with a letter for Peter’s parents (his Mum needs a particular electric lead to be able to play her violin remotely with her friends) and I planned my questions for tonight’s Sheehan family quiz. However all of this pales into insignificance compared to the main event of the day: meeting someone from outside my household!

My household currently consists of me, Peter and Damo. And, for sixty nine days now, Peter and Damo are the only people that I know, that I have seen. Wow, when I write that down, it sounds completely insane. But it’s true. I’ve seen shop assistants and pharmacists, but, in terms of friends, Peter and Damo are the only ones I’ve seen for over two months now. I guess I have just never thought of it that way because I’ve seen so much of my friends on Zoom these days. This is the first time that I’ve really stopped to think about it!

Anyway, last Monday, my friend Marie from St Finbarrs running club texted to ask if I’d have any interest in meeting for a socially distanced run this week. What an exciting text to get! I had been thinking of texting her but I wasn’t sure how up for it she’d be and I didn’t want to pressurise her. It turns out we were both thinking the exact same thing! I’m so glad she texted though. This is day three of us being allowed to meet in groups of up to four for exercise or socialising.

We met outside Tramore Valley Park at 6pm and did a forty five minute run around the park. When I met her first, it felt so surreal. It was the strangest thing ever. I’d almost forgotten how to interact with a friend. And, I guess it was made all the more weird by the fact that we couldn’t come closer than two metres, even though that’s what every urge in your body wants to do when you see someone you know! I’ve heard people with autism describe how difficult it often is for them to know what to do or how to act in social situations. I kind of felt a bit like how that has been described to me!

We’d a great catch up on our run. It turns out that we’ve both had a similar experience of lockdown. For example, she had a big meltdown the day that Leo Varadkar announced the details of the phases of the relaxation of restrictions, and it took her about a week to recover from that. She’s also really missing being able to go and see her family in Cavan, more than anything else, and is keeping the option of a sneaky trip home on the back burner for now! It’s nice to chat to someone in the same boat as me, and we are both counting down the days to July 20th, when we can see our families again! Interestingly, she said that her husband finds it hard to understand why she’s so upset, which is exactly how it’s been with Peter too. In fact, I’ve heard so much anecdotal evidence of women finding the lockdown tougher than men. When I stopped in Tesco on my way home, I saw several newspapers’ headlines which said that women are being hit hardest by the lockdown. This conclusion was arrived at after a CSO study, which I actually took part in. I wonder why so many women are finding it tough while men, like Peter, are happy out?

In the evening, I hosted the weekly Sheehan quiz. Everyone, especially John, was very complimentary of my questions, which was great! Peter won. He beat the Lisnashee team by three points. The Lisnashee team are quite the force to be reckoned with every week! My last question in the sports round was “in which county is Castlehaven parkrun?” Anna was outraged by such a question, but Mum loved it. I think it’s actually my favourite quiz question of all time!Läs mer