Sheltering in Place by Margo Knightbridge

Margo works as a librarian in the Metadata (Cataloguing) Dept of Auckland University Library. She is a sixth-generation New Zealander, and treasures her large extended family and her friends, as well as her involvement with choral and solo singing. She supports many environmental and social justice organisations and often fund-raises for animal welfare.    The weeks in lockdown gave her valuable thinking time about her future life.
 
On 25 March 2020 the New Zealand government  locked down the nation for an indefinite period, in an attempt to contain the spread of a virus which was previously unknown to science.

My husband gathered his research materials from his office so that he could work full-time from home, while I was instructed, as an older employee, to stay at home from my university job, on special leave, until further notice.

Under the lockdown, our lives quickly settled into a new routine. With the nation at home, apart from essential workers, the streets were eerily quiet with no cars. We tried to do a daily walk to take exercise, waving and exchanging greetings at a distance with other family groups out to take the air.
 
The weather was glorious and we enjoyed day after day of a golden autumn, only worrying later about the lack of rain and the looming water shortages.
 
During our walks we discovered parts of our neighbourhood that we hardly knew, in spite of having lived in the area for many years. We found a miniature olive grove in an adjacent street, and around another corner, a street guava tree laden with fruit. Another time we explored  a tiny local park which we had driven past hundreds of times but never visited. It was full of ancient trees and ringing with birdsong.
 
We enjoyed the community spirit coming to the fore, including neighbours shopping for us, teddy bears in windows for children to count, Easter egg paintings in nearby streets,  and flags and poppies on display for Anzac Day.  Trading between friends saw us receive avocados from a neighbour's tree, some of which we exchanged for another neighbour's home-grown feijoas. Our own home-grown pecan nuts also made an edible gift.
I appreciated having the time to trawl through recipe books looking for easy meals which could use food from the freezer and pantry.  Baking, which I have always enjoyed, became the indoor hobby of choice, and cakes, loaves and muffins emerged from my ancient oven in a regular procession.


My daily routine included putting on different clothes from the day before, plus lipstick and earrings, to maintain my self esteem and to avoid frightening anyone who might come to the door!

We watched the daily television updates of medical and social news and were impressed by the calm focused drive of our Prime Minister and Director-General of Health.  We realised how lucky we were when observing the situation in other countries. Receiving bulletins from relatives in the United Kingdom and United States only underlined this.
 
Communication with family and friends (especially our older ones) was vital,  and every day I was in touch with people, here and overseas, by email, phone and letter. My Samsung tablet became my lifeline and I took great care to keep it charged and out of harm' s way.

Entertainment has never been a problem and we have watched lovely concerts on Sky Arts channel , read obsessively and listened to recorded music and live radio. We also found solace in our garden and nurturing a  small vege plot.
 
During lockdown we discovered our much-loved cat had a cancerous growth on his side which needed to be removed surgically. In the weeks that have followed we have been nursing our furry boy at home and keeping him inside (against his will) as he heals.
 
The nation has now moved down to Alert Level 2 and life has resumed some normality. But the long-term effects of the lockdown, necessary though it was, will be felt for a long time to come.

The weeks at home emphasised for us that we have much to be thankful for, and that we are supremely fortunate to be part of the 'team of five million' which makes up the population of Aotearoa New Zealand. Let's hope we don't waste any lessons we might have learned from this unprecedented experience.