Diary of a Lockdown, day 9: dawns and dusks

It was a lovely bright morning today – and I was surprised how much it lifted my spirits. The first few days of lockdown had started with sunshine pouring into the bottom corner of our garden and I had enjoyed starting each day there in the birdsong with a cup of tea. But last few early mornings had been overcast and gloomy and I’d found myself more often crawling back under the duvet.

Have you noticed how the way you start the day sets the tone for how the rest goes? On those cold and overcast mornings, I never seemed to get going. A few hours each day were lost in front of the TV or plugged into the computer. Today, the bright start seemed to ignite a more energetic me.

As well as my usual morning yoga, I planted seeds (lettuce, rocket, radish, basil, parsley and cress), weeded the strawberry bed, cleaned the kitchen and almost finished reading a book. For these lockdown days that seem to merge one into another, that feels like quite an achievement!

Another success was thwarting youngest son’s attempt at April Fools pranks. A few years ago, the boys really went to town on April 1st with dental floss ‘tripwires’, clingfilm over the toilet and cups of water balanced to drop from the tops of doors. This year the boys  didn’t even surface before noon. But youngest had clearly made his preparations after we had gone to bed and I woke to find cup of water balanced on our bedroom door. I spotted it before getting drenched.

Yesterday had ended beautifully too, with a huge orange sun dropping behind skeletal trees on Tooting Bec Common as I walked the dog. Maybe it was a good omen.