Lockdown Diary - Friday 18th December 2020

7 a.m., first carer of the day is at the door, and I welcome her in with a cheery greeting, despite having only emerged from my bed 5 minutes or so ago.  As she prepares my wife's meds we chat and she reminds me Christmas is a week today.  This provokes a momentary shiver of panic, but then I remember that though I haven't finished all the shopping, I have plans, it should all come together.  Hopefully, by the end of Monday, I will have almost everything in place.

After she leaves I go and get ready for the day. I'm planning to go to the shops to get the final presents for those carers I've not bought for, so far. Whilst getting ready I have a brainwave and decide to go as soon as possible, before breakfast, so I can get it out of the way and do so before it starts getting busy.  So that's what I do.  It's about 8:20 and I'm about to head to the shops.  I may be some time.

I'm back, shopping done, and time for breakfast.

Plans for the rest of the day?  Wrap some of the carer's presents - I think tomorrow is the last day I'll see one or two of them before Christmas - and also their cards.  Double check I've got physical presents for everyone getting physical ones, write a list of what's still left to do.  Oh, what fun.  Once upon a time two of us organised this - it was so much easier then. So far, I think I'm doing a better job than last year of not buying too much food - got less of most things and some things I'm not bothering with! I don't want to find we have out of date mince pies in December 2021😂🤣😂

Early afternoon I have a brief call from my father-in-law, the hamper has arrived but he'll not be opening it until 'the day'. I wonder which day he's referring to? Not only that, he's going to call us on 'the day'. I'm wondering why the mystery is necessary, unless 'the day' is not the day I'm thinking of? All will be revealed on 'the day' when the phone call arrives. 

After lunch I join the boys in the living room, they're playing on son #2's new XBox (whatever the fuck the new one's called), I, on the other hand, am wrapping presents to the sound of FIFA and some other bloody game involving diving to some sunken wreck.  By the time Christmas comes I may be that sunken wreck.

Having satiated their XBox desires (?!?) they retire upstairs to play PC games, leaving me the living room and the chance to listen to music. Loud.  Gotta grab my chance before it's time to make dinner (Smoky Pork and Boston beans, if you're asking).  For a change I listen to a compilation CD I knocked up a few days ago. The theme? Rock songs with a heavy bias towards Van Halen, in tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen.

Over dinner we finish the first season of 'The Mandalorian', which turns out to be quite good, despite my misgivings about Disney. 

You can't beat a bit of Iggy.  This song is the antithesis of how I am at the moment.  Too much to do.  Iggy Pop. 'I'm Bored'. From the album 'New Values'.


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