Yesterday, my daughters and I were all beaming with excitement as we were going on an afternoon excursion to meet our bestest friends for the first time in months. With a water bottle each, snacks, picnic blankets, mobile phones, hand sanitiser and sunglasses, we clambered into my dusty, hardly-ever-used-now car and cranked up the music. Windows were rolled down and off we went into the wider world. After nine weeks of being holed up, with my kind husband being the one going out and braving the food shops, we were free.
I drove my older daughter to her friend's house first and together they walked at the correct social distance towards the reservoir with their backpacks ladden with goodies, chatting away. My younger daughter changed the music to something more inappropriate and off we went towards her destination. Her friend was waiting on the village common and the pair of them walked towards the shade of the trees with picnic basket and big smiles on their faces.
Half an hour later, I met my friend and it was so lovely and uplifting to see her in real life again.
We met at a cirucular walk that I recognised from my childhood and it felt nostalgic seeing the stream where my sister, cousin and I paddled our feet and I remembered the field of gently swaying crops that we hiked through in the sunny breeze. Everytime we passed another walker, everyone did a dozy-do style movement to get out of the way, which felt rude and polite, all at once. It was so good to catch up with my friend and we managed to walk two metres apart, although, it felt so weird not to be able to hug each other hello and goodbye - it is almost like a magnetic field has to keep you apart. We walked, talked and laughed for an hour but it felt like a week's holiday and I was bouyed up with happiness afterwards.
I was also lucky enough to meet up with my mum, sister and another friend the week before - all separately, I hasten to add, for an hour's long walk on each occasion and again, I was enriched with a feeling of warm, fuzzy wellbeing afterwards. Whoever thought that such simple pleasures could cause such happiness. I have always liked walking before but it really makes you value your family and friendships more than ever, during lockdown. This afternoon I am off to meet up with my mum again for a walk in the woods at a safe distance.
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