Isolation week 7

It's hard to believe I'm partway through week seven of isolation, in some ways it feels like longer, and in others, it doesn't actually feel that bad! Things have been going pretty well, I enjoyed the second week of holiday with lots of sunshine and relaxing in the garden.

School has gone back and we are now starting to get work in to mark which means I have more to do - yay! Some of us in the flat went out after midnight last week to watch the meteor shower and it was great just lying on a blanket under the stars with good friends. I did have a go at taking some photos but the light pollution was rather tricky and I didn't catch any shooting stars in shot. Jack moves out at the end of this week and our new flatmate Jo won't move in until lockdown is lifted which still looks like another couple of weeks away.

I received the letter from the NHS on Saturday saying I'm in the vulnerable person category and should basically be self-isolating for 12 weeks. We figured as long as we were isolating in our bubble then the risks were pretty low so we'd just try being extra careful with the routines around going to the supermarket etc.  However, I've been having trouble with my arthritis flaring and not staying under control and finally managed to get through to a nurse at the hospital yesterday. She consulted with my rheumatologist and he has changed my medication and put me on a course of steroids for two weeks to try and get it sorted. Their advice was I should be social distancing from my flatmates regardless, but definitely need to do so while taking the steroids. So from today I am basically confined to my room for two weeks. I have to message our flat WhatsApp whenever I want to use the kitchen and everyone vacates to their rooms until I am safely back in my bedroom. We'll try and do lots of messaging and video chats so I don't go completely stir crazy but it is still going to be hard.

I have definitely had some rather dark moments over the last couple of days feeling like my whole world has come crashing down. Most of the things I'm in the UK for aren't possible at the moment, like meeting new people, seeing new places, etc. I really don't like being unable to plan for the future and am definitely feeling challenged to learn to be content with the present and to find the good things in every situation. While I would rather have not been forced into learning that mindset in quite the way it has happened, I am trying to take that challenge on board because I think if I don't, I may just not be content at all in my life - the temptation is to always be looking forward to the next thing rather than enjoying what is. So I don't know what this whole situation has thrown up for you in terms of challenges but I hope everyone is coping well and holding on to the fact it won't be forever!

And I'm sorry but I can't resist putting in another cat video, Wesley has this whole thing about carrying toys in his mouth - so cute!