Wednesday, August 19, 2020

What I want for my birthday

Level Four Lockdown: Day Eighteen
Curfew. 8 p.m.
Mood: Level. Middling.

Today is my birthday.

The phone has been ringing incessantly since about 7.30. I've had calls from the USA, Brisbane, Adelaide and Myponga and it's not even 10 a.m. Lots of lovely messages from friends, the postie has brought me new Birkenstocks, I've gone and got myself a coffee and the cat was being his charming best this morning and gave me a purr and a cuddle first thing this morning, so I already think I'm winning.

My colleague has told me to take it easy today, so in between tasks I'm reading a chapter of my book group book, which needs to be finished by 8 pm tomorrow night. There's some writing I might do. A gentle night, now that I've done a session with Cleo and Jay over a video cal.

Birthday's in isolation suck a bit. It's lovely that people think of you. I've had a barrage of phone calls, messages and texts. My Facebook page is full of birthday messages - that has been lovely.

But I look at what I would love for my birthday. If I dream big:

  • Three months off to write this novel (fully paid at my current salary of course)
  • A business class airfare to New York and a month in a decent apartment in Manhattan. 
  • Just a few weeks in Ubud, Bali
  • A night out with my friends at a really good Spanish restaurant
  • A long weekend in Daylesford
  • A weekend up in a wine region, somewhere, with friends.
I see a theme here. I miss travel. As we can't travel at the moment, I'm feeling it. It looks like I won't be able to make it over the border to see my mum for her 80th birthday. It's stuff like this that's hard.

But it's been a nice day.

But I didn't answer my question. What do I really want for my birthday.

Simple.

A cuddle. I just want a bit of good old-fashioned human contact.

It's a pity it's all a bit hard to come by at the moment. 

Today's Song:



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