Anyone who knows me will attest to the fact I am an inveterate planner. I have lists; lists of lists; and spreadsheets about lists of lists. And one of the things I prepare in great detail is the schedule for my blog posts. There are specific themes/topics for each of the four weeks of the month. And if there happens to be a fifth Monday in the month, I come up with something extra to slot in.

March 2020 has five Mondays; and I had my plan in place. But something’s gone awry.

I was due to have a total knee replacement next Thursday. So my plan for today was to write my usual writerly round-up (called Ducie’s Diary at the moment); and then to take next Monday off. I reckoned I would deserve a bit of a break. 

But last Friday, my operation was postponed. I had been expecting it for weeks. And I was quite relieved when the phone call finally came. Going into hospital was the last thing I wanted to do at the moment. And the hard-pressed medical staff have far more important things on their mind than helping me to get back to the gym or the dance floor.

But that left me with a hole in my schedule, And no real excuse for not filling it. So, I sat down at my desk this morning to come up with something to add in there. But my brain seems to have shut down for the moment. All I can think of is making bread; picking wild garlic to flavour tonight’s soup; keeping in touch with the friends and family that we can’t spend time with; spotting rainbows in windows when out for our (very) early morning walks; and hoping and praying that everyone takes precautions to keep themselves and others safe.

We’re all facing a lot of changes at the moment. And change can be really scary. Especially when it’s unexpected; or controlled by other people; or both. I suspect I’m not the only one who’s finding it a tad difficult to work under conditions of the new ‘normal’. And that’s speaking as someone who works from home all the time anyway and is self-employed. I can only imagine how frightening it must be for people who are used to leaving the house each day; employed by a company; and uncertain whether they will have a job at the end of all this. 

So, in a change of plan, I’m taking my week off NOW, and will return with Ducie’s Diary next week. In the meantime, keep safe and healthy everyone. And take it slowly. Change if inevitable. But how we deal with it is up to us.