OYSTERHOOD is reclusiveness or solitude, or an overwhelming desire to stay at home.

— @HaggardHawks

The beach-me is being taken out of the closet, dusted off and returned to her natural habitat (pictured above on holiday at the mouth of the Mngazi River a few years ago).

The President has spoken.

I will just wait a few days before I venture out into the beach-world. I imagine the crowds will be gone by next Monday. It was the same with the outdoor restrictions in early lockdown. And I will go wine shopping after my first beach excursion. But I might be at The Hoghouse Brewery for some beer – and pasteis de nata – earlier than that :)

Most importantly, the first vaccines are here. Yay for the heroes among us: the healthcare workers! As for the rest of us: let’s do everything possible to make these heroes’ lives easier. Let us behave in such a manner that they can finally rest a bit after the relentlessness of the past year.

I am also busy trying to find some rest from an entirely different kind of exhaustion. The trick is to gradually work through the responsibilities that have accumulated and NOT to take on any more for a while. And to be patient, and kind, and not to feel guilty. I know I am making people wait and perhaps even letting them down, but I don’t know any longer how to push myself even harder.

And I have to stop feeling responsible for other people’s failures. I just need to take care of my own.

Monday. I managed to change the light bulb in my study today! I have been without proper light in this room since the beginning of the year … and yes, I do know how pathetic that sounds. But the light feels like a sign of hope, that it will all be well in the end. How? Don’t know. It’s a mystery.

Be kind. Wear a mask. Support local.

“Physical distancing remains one of the key strategies to curb this pandemic.”

— NICD