Griffin de Ru – The Isolation

The president announced that the whole country is going under lockdown because of the corona virus. Only certain companies are allowed to be open. All the bars are closed, due to the fact that alcohol sales are prohibited. I am a 29 years old bartender who stays is Table View, Cape Town and now I don’t have a job anymore and I don’t know for how long. What do you do to stay human during such a long time in quarantine? It sometimes feels like a reality show.

Luckily for me I moved in with my girlfriend two months before the Iockdown began. I don’t know how I would have survived this lockdown without her by my side. We are one big happy family; Grandpa, grandma, mom, dad, me and her. Three generations living together under one roof. What can go wrong? It’s important to concentrate on the positive vibes during tough times like these. We are fortunate to have enough food and money to survive a while. We all pull our weight in and around the house and we do everything we can to keep each other sane. It is so easy to get depressed during these times, for food and water is not the only thing you need to stay alive. You need a system to stay positive, happy and human. You need a routine to stay you.

Every morning me and my girlfriend wake up, we make the bed, we have a cup of coffee. I do the dishes and then my day starts. As soon as you do something productive you feel better already. Sometimes we watch cartoons in bed while we eat cereal just to relax a little and to break the routine. You don’t want to feel too much like a robot. We have a list of goals that we work on everyday so we don’t feel empty and useless inside. She has class online Monday’s to Friday’s and she works on her assignments during her free time so that keeps her busy at least. I had a dream since I was a teenager to write a book. I used this time to write my very first book. I even started writing my second book. I continue to live my life dream of becoming a successful YouTuber every day, by posting videos as much as I can. Regarding goals we are on a roll.

We built a Rat house for our rats to play in. We moved our whole room around and cleaned everything. We sorted out old stuff. Made a mosaic mirror and a make-up case. Everyone in the house is on their own mission but what do you do when all those things are done? How do you not think about things too much and end up losing your mind? The answer is entertainment. We reward ourselves with entertainment. We keep a balance between work and play. This way we survive each day with a smile on our face and whenever someone is down there is someone to pick you up and cheer you up. This family sticks together.

We have dinner every night at the dinner table were we talk about things and make jokes. We build puzzles, play board games when we braai and we have movie nights were we watch horror movies, even though my girlfriend hates them. We play games on the pc, mobile phone and on the PlayStation. We walk around the house and pretend it’s a cruise ship were we have snacks outside and have conversations about anything thing except the Corona virus because that is the only thing people talk about lately, no wonder they are so negative and depressed. Everyone also constantly plays pranks on one another, mom will prank grandma with a fake snake in-between the washing on the washing line, and mom will prank my girlfriend with fake geckos in her bed, yeah… I guess it’s kind of just mom doing the pranking, but it keeps her sane.

Thanks to the internet I communicate to all my friends and family each day to make sure they are okay and how they are keeping up. They keep me happy and inspired to start new projects. I inspired them with new projects. People need people. We send each other photos of our gardens, pets, the food we make and the stuff we build. Never be uninspired. We’ll always have one another to make sure of that.

Then they changed the rules of lockdown a little, so now we are allowed to go outside of our houses between 6 and 9 am in the mornings. You’re allowed to jog or walk your dog within a 5km radius around your house so we try to walk the dog every morning. Nothing renews the soul like fresh air and getting out of the house. It also gives you some exercise. I wonder how many people are going to be in shape after this nationwide lockdown. Some people are exercising more than usual and some are stress eating. I’m doing a bit of both, but more of the eating.

The important thing is that everyone should play by the rules and stick to what needs to be done so we can solve this problem as quick as possible. I know it can get difficult sometimes but together we can do this. There is something or someone that will keep you sane. Until the day that I’m allowed to go to work again, I will continue working on my goals as I add more every day. I accomplish something every day and I reward myself every day. This is how we stay human. This is how we survive. I quit smoking, I quit drinking and I work in my garden every day. I read, I play guitar, I learn and I grow. At least the one positive thing we can bring out from this quarantine, is that it sure did make us one damn stronger nation! Isolation or lockdown is just another day at the office. “During lockdown, we are surely locked, but not down! Stay inspired, stay sane.”

-Griffin de Ru

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