What to do when travel is shut down?

I wanted to keep up the travel blog but suffice to say COVID-19 has put a crimp on that! So I am just going to reframe the whole concept of ‘travel’ as life’s journey. This year Bitti and I were all set for a camping trip to the Flinders Ranges around the new year, that was postponed due to the bushfires. Easter came and we had to postpone the camping trip again due to the intrastate travel lock down. That trip is now pencilled in for the October long weekend. Fingers crossed SA remains healthy we can make it because it’s been over a year now since our last camping holiday.

I also cancelled a couple of other planned holidays. One to Brisbane to see my new nephew, born right before Christmas. The other to Wellington, NZ to hang out with my friend before her July due date. With Queensland still on lock down and Victorian cases growing I doubt I’ll be able to re-book either of those trips any time soon. Sadly, it seems all the babies might be toddlers before I get a chance to smoosh them, and the chance to help out new parents will have passed by. I know there are worse things happening, but it feels like once-in-a-lifetime experiences have been lost and it’s just a real shame 😦

Aside from lamenting these losses, I am grateful that this period has been kind to us. I have worked from home, but the work has still been there. My employer has been amazing, doing all the right things to look after the staff. School has remained open for Bitti so she’s been continuing to attend, enabling me to work unhindered. The biggest challenge has been keeping up with uni work. I found that working at my kitchen table all day and then going back there again after Bitti was in bed was tough. I like the physical separation of working in the office, studying in the library and relaxing at home, it helps keep my mind organised.

I was a bit slack early on in the semester. That created stress when assignments were due, and more again during exam preparation. It didn’t help that it was hard going with some quite dry material delivered by lecturers who suddenly found themselves recording from their lounge rooms, and a lack of interest in the topics on my part. However, I got through it and exams are blessedly over. Doing the exam from home was an interesting experience. I have not done an open book exam before! I am not expecting excellent grades this time, but I am trying not to dwell on it. Semester 2 will offer a chance to redeem myself, and promises a more interesting ride content-wise. Getting back into stats and health & lifespan development.

I have been feeling less motivated about uni because I have started a new job that is just the kind of job I hoped I would get after study. So having found myself already at the goal, I’m wondering if there’s any point continuing, especially given how time-poor and stressed it makes me. I concluded that I should finish the undergrad degree since it’s only one more semester, then apply for Honours and see how I feel after a rest over summer. Honours means another two years of part-time study, but it would provide me more options afterwards in both the clinical and research pathways. By the end of 2022 I may be ready for a change from this role that is now new.

Bitti continues to talk a lot about ‘the black kitty’ from Tuscany. She is adamant that our next holiday must be back to Italy to see her. I have been torn between warning her that the black kitten may not be there any more, and keeping her hopeful about her furry friend. She has accepted that the kitten won’t remember her (‘because I don’t remember anything from when I was a baby’), but still wants to go back for another play and cuddle. I wonder when we will even be able to consider international travel again? Still, that means I can concentrate time and money elsewhere. The house has benefitted already from this; I have a kitchen refresh ongoing and a garden update planned.