Well, actually, Blossom Kitty can NOT travel. Few people can. However, being from Melbourne, Australia, I am not sure how many other people have such stringent rules on how far they can travel. We are on Day 37 of Stage 4 lockdown, and we are unable to travel further than a 5km radius from our homes, except to access medical and health care or to work, if you are in the very few industries still operating and are allowed to work on-site. We are allowed to leave our homes for 1 hour of exercise a day, with a mask, naturally, and one person may leave the home to purchase essentials such as food and medication, for one hour. There is an 8pm curfew, for EVERYBODY, except permitted workers returning or travelling to work. This curfew ends at 5am each day. The permitted workers are exactly that, workers who hold permits allowing them to travel to and from their essential business. This lockdown was supposed to end on Sunday, the 13th September, but has been extended. The parameters for reopening are very stringent, and we will quite possibly not be able to see family and friends or shop, or eat out until the end of October, things going well, or possibly even into November. At that stage we will have been locked up for anywhere between 17 and 21 weeks. This is is the second lockdown. The first lasted 8 weeks.
As a kid I loved dystopian fiction and I studied history all through school and at university. I also studied social science, sociology and anthropology and I must say, I have always felt that many people in our “lucky country” have never stopped to put themselves into the shoes of others. Others that live in war zones, places of civil unrest and violence, places where rights are few and rules are extreme. I never considered myself to be someone that wasn’t aware of the plight of others, or lacking in empathy. However, I still find myself shocked and surprised at what these restrictions, the uncertainty and the fear are doing to my mental health. How they are affecting my friends and family, and how much not being able to support, in person, those whom you love and care deeply about affects our overall wellbeing. Or how difficult it is to know what to do and how to support your own children. We have four teenagers in our house and I feel totally inadequately skilled to be able to support all of them. They all need support in different areas and I don’t even know where to begin unpacking this trauma with any of them.
And we are lucky. We have jobs, we have space and we have our health. I can not comprehend the additional mental load if we had not retained our work. I have experienced financial hardship, for extended periods and I know how much additional stress this adds to your everyday stress. Everyone in the world is being affected by this mass trauma, in one way or another. The feelings of helplessness and overwhelm are justified. The concern for global incompetence is real. The anguish of worldwide suffering is heavy. And the uncertainty is probably the most destabilising element in this situation.
One of the things that I have found during this time is I am yearning to travel. Of course, I would love to travel to Japan, and Canada to see family, but my yearning is far less grand. My heart aches for the laneways and vibrancy of Melbourne. I read an excellent article several weeks ago that made me weep, and a link to it can be found here. It made me realise that we are grieving, we are mourning a lost lifestyle and that something I had always loved, my city, was now out of my reach. For the time being, anyway. Super Sake Boy used to work in the city, before COVID. He worked on the corner of Flinders Lane and Exhibition Street. I would go with him, on the train, once a week and spend my day in the city. Spending some of my time at the State Library, my very favourite place in Melbourne, writing. Walking, without purpose through the busyness and the “buzz”, stopping for excellent coffee at Industry Beans or Market Lane or Sensory Lab. Sneaking to The Hill of Content, my favourite bookshop, that I rarely leave empty handed. Meeting Super Sake Boy for lunch at Mamasita or Chocolate Buddha, the dizzying choice of food, in restaurants, cafes and food courts, that is made by somebody that is not us. Sipping sake after work, before the train ride home, or enjoying the city and staying around for dinner at Tamura Sake Bar or Wabi Sabi Salon. Meeting friends, enjoying life, things I have never taken for granted and always appreciated but never thought I would be unable to experience for a prolonged period.
We have all lost something during lockdown and due to COVID. Whether it’s a sense of security that many never have been shaken before, the feeling of being safe and being in a safe place, or the security of being able to plan ahead and have some idea of what to expect when you get there. The future that many people had planned for themselves, and worked so hard to achieve. It is like a world sized rug has been pulled from under every one of us. Will we adapt. Sure we will. Will it be easy. Probably not. We will, however, prevail. As that is what humans do. We adapt and we get on with it. Will Melbourne be different when I can return. I think it will. Some changes will be obvious and others, perhaps, almost imperceptible. So, my travel dreams, which are usually of far away places, are, at this time, of Melbourne. Around 35kms from home and yet, a million miles away. Hopefully we can return, safely and soon. Stay well.
Blossomkitty Travels 