Chronicles of COVID-19

Title

Ruth, Cork City

Contributor

Ruth

Subject

COVID-19 (Disease)

Coverage

Ireland; Cork; 2020s:

Date

20 April 2020

Language

English

Creator

Cork Folklore Project

Rights

Cork Folklore Project

Description

GENERAL PHYSICAL LOCATION RIGHT NOW

Cork City

USUAL LOCATION

Same

Q. 1 STAGES

We had a family bereavement on 27th February, the funeral was in Dublin, and it was the first time that I was conscious of how much physical contact we have and how this might not be a good idea. I think at that stage there were no reported cases here but it was becoming more widespread through Europe and we were aware that it would arrive here. The priest at the funeral was extremely self-conscious asking people not to shake hands as a sign of peace, and there was a fair amount of giggling at the suggested alternatives of nodding and fist bumping. I had taken up night classes in Italian and was delighted to find when they moved to Zoom that it is lovely to sit at home, glass of wine in hand chatting in Italian with all the other students. I always shopped for food on an almost daily basis, calling in to the market or to our local vegetable shop on the way home from work. I am finding food shopping very stressful at the moment, trying to minimise trips by bulk buying, and as there are six of us in the house all the time we are eating vast amounts of food and baking as recreation. I found myself ordering flour in 25kg sacks and a kilo of fresh yeast at a time. We have had one birthday in the house since the lockdown, we made cake, and made cards, luckily when I felt a lockdown was imminent I stocked up on bits and pieces that would do for presents. My sister in law is cremating her mother today, she died of Covid 19, it feels so strange not to be able to attend a funeral, sympathise in person or follow any of the usual rituals, I think there will be a lot of trauma to be dealt with when this is over.

Q. 2 EVERYDAY ROUTINE

I am now working from home. I work part time in UCC, five mornings a week, my work lends itself well to remote working and as it only takes four hours a day has been quite manageable. I have three children all at home, my husband is now working from home four days a week and my brother is currently living with us, so finding a space to work quietly has been the biggest issue. I did invest in a desk for myself and built a desk for the kids. My main social activity was rowing and I miss that terribly. I miss the time spent with other people, being free to spend as much time outdoors as I want, getting muddy, eating cling wrapped sandwiches on the side of the river, passing flasks of coffee over and back, not worrying about accidentally touching something that might not be clean.

Q. 3 GROUPS

Within my own family I can see how difficult this is for our older relations, my parents and our aunts in particular. They were accustomed to travelling from Dublin to us every other week; they miss the grandchildren and the social contact dreadfully. My mother is quite ill and is aware that she has only a very limited number of summers left, she is angry and resentful that she is missing out on all this time. A number of my friends are teachers, both primary and secondary and I have been struck by how lonely they are for their students. It had never occurred to me before that this would be the case. Of my three children, one dislikes the school environment and is thriving since she has had the opportunity to manage her own time and school work. One loves the social aspect of school and is missing his friends and even his teachers; another is quite happy but is lonely for his friends.

Q. 4 WAYS WE TALK

No Response.

Q. 5 COMMUNITY RESPONSE

I've been walking every day, and in an effort to avoid more crowded places been wandering up and down residential streets around the city, I've seen lots of boxes of books on front walls, with a sign offering them to anyone who wants them. I've been quite moved by that. I have an aunt in her seventies, fiercely independent, but a big supporter of Fine Gael, I did not think she would agree to stay indoors, but she wanted to do her bit, a local GAA volunteer has been shopping for her and picking up her prescriptions. I am not a GAA person, but I've been impressed with how quickly they jumped in to help.

Q. 6 THOUGHTS AND PREOCCUPATIONS

I've been observing how the things I missed the most in the first week or so have now become less important and different things have become more important. I wonder will this end soon and will any of the lifestyle changes that we've had to accept stay with us.

Q. 7 SIMILARITY TO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

No Response.

Q. 8 CHALLENGES AND COPING

No Response.

Q. 9 THE FUTURE

I think remote working and flexible working hours might be here to stay and I think that could be a positive thing. I hope that we will not go back to the over buying of unnecessary things.

Q. 10 IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE THAT SPRINGS TO MIND?

No Response.

Q. 11 IN A NUTSHELL

I think it is too early to tell! I've discovered many things: that I enjoy the company of my immediate family more than I thought, that my kids are excellent cooks and bakers, that it is possible to only shop once a week, that it is hard to concentrate on a book when there is a global pandemic. Video calls are magic, grandparents are wonderful things to have even from a distance, it is possible to grow vegetables in a tiny city centre garden, I still hate housework, dogs are great company, exercising within 2KM of home is boring, teachers are amazingly adaptable people, shop workers are heroes too, care of the elderly should not have been privatised, meetings on line actually work, endless travel not always necessary. Birds sing a lot in April, there is no need to stockpile toilet roll and finally all those boring economists and financial advisors who said we spend too much money on takeaway coffees were right.

age

36-50

gender

Female