While the world is getting vaccinated and covid cases decrease, we’re going through our 4th wave here in the Middle East, and starting a new two week lockdown, trying to manage the spike of British and South African variants – that we could have prevented without a lockdown, if only the boarders remained shut. Or simply by quarantining those arriving.
Alas, that didn’t happen, so now we’re responsible for the spike, because “we, the civilians” didn’t take enough precautions.
At least we have the promise of vaccines dangling like a carrot in front of us. I’d say I hate carrots, but that would be a lie, so along I trod, hoping those vaccines arrive – and my turn as well.
My writing has suffered meanwhile, though I’m not sure if it’s because of the chaos the virus made of everyone’s life, lack of focus, stress, or something else I can’t think to name at the moment. I have to force myself to pick up the draft and add word after word and make cohesive sentences. It’s a struggle, though none that affects any other aspect of my day-to-day in a big way.
Just my writing. Where once I could tune out the world, now I’m easily distracted by anything and everything going on around me – and considering now that the kids will be home for the coming weeks, I probably won’t even manage those few sentences a day.
It’s all covid’s fault.
Any suggestions? Something I could do to return that focus? An exercise I can do, a vitamin I could take, something I could smoke? A planet I could escape to?
Well, I’ll leave you here with something that happened a few weeks ago (when the kids returned to school for the second semester). I’m totally blaming covid for this.
***
My daughter, 3rd grade, returned from school the very first day happy and excited. So happy that she wanted to teach my niece, 2nd grade, some math.
I, as the proud mother, paused what I was doing (tinkering with my fantasy draft of course), and listened.
Daughter: “Let’s do the times table. 3 X 4=?”
Niece: “17!”
Daughter: “No.”
Niece: “18?”
Daughter: “No.”
Niece: “19?”
Daughter: “No.”
Niece: “I know. 20!”
Daughter, now smug: “No. Do you want me to tell you?”
Niece: “yes.”
Daughter: “3 X 4…. It’s 16!”
Jina S. Bazzar 
Just do what you can to get to tomorrow. And write out your high and low points of your day. It keeps me focused if I write out what’s bothering me, because once it’s not taking up space in my head I can be free
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Mmmm, I wonder if that would work for me. I think I’ll try it.
Thanks for the tip.
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I know it really clears my head. I also write one thing I’m grateful for. It sets me up
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I think we’re all still still struggling with the COVID mess and praying for the distribution of the vaccine. I was more effected during the original lock down period when I couldn’t write or focus at all. Now, I’ve found a kind of foothold and have even made great progress on my WIP.
I hope things get better for you Jina. Reading helped me.
And I had a chuckle about your daughter and your niece, LOL!
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Thanks, Mae. I’d bet the majority of people around the globe is/was affected by the virus in some way.
My daughter will grow up to be a mathematician!
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Jina, at least you can have some smiles listening to your daughter’s tutoring skills! 😀 I’m sorry you are all entering lockdown again, here in the UK we are entering its third month although effectively been five for us in the south east. Last Spring was easier with beautiful weather and the garden, winter has been tough. Be kind to yourself and give yourself a pat on the back for any small achievement. Hope is on the horizon … I’m waiting for my turn of the vaccine. Fingers crossed it won’t be too long for you. Take good care of yourself.
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The kids are giving me premature gray hair – no, they’re making me bald – but they’re the light of my life, Annika. I’m grateful for them, their health and – yes, their intelligence 😉
Thanks for dropping by and good luck with the vaccine.
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Great post!
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Thanks!
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I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling, Jina. I agree with LA. Journaling your feelings is a great way to relieve some of the stress. I make a point of writing down one thing that made me happy each day. It really gets your head in the right place. Take care of yourself!
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I’m going to try journaling for a week and see how it goes.
Thanks, Jill, and have a great week.
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Math has patterns which are easy to learn. When you multiply anything thing an even number, you will get an even number.
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Math’s never been one of my daughter’s strength, Jim. Hopefully, one day the numbers will just click and start making sense – and she’ll be a great mathematician!
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Take good care of you, Jina! Prayers and love, my friend… We are all in this together and must continue to be there for one another. ❤ xo
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True. And thank you!
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This whole thing is a mess. We will look back on it in a decade and wonder how it was so mismanaged. Aren’t we a clever species?
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Ah, I read an article published on february of last year about how the world’s seen pandemics over and over, and the people are too shortsighted to keep from repeating the same mistakes again.
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Well said. Good article, I think.
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I went searching for the article, Jacqui – and found it. It was released late Jan last year – before the virus became a global pandemic.
I’ll paste the link for you here, as well as the passage I was referring to:
“We are faced with two mortal challenges, in the short term and the long term. Short term: We must do everything we can, with intelligence, calm and a full commitment of resources, to contain and extinguish this nCoV-2019 outbreak before it becomes, as it could, a devastating global pandemic. Long term: We must remember, when the dust settles, that nCoV-2019 was not a novel event or a misfortune that befell us. It was — it is — part of a pattern of choices that we humans are making.”
And here’s the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/opinion/coronavirus-china.html
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Thanks for the link. Off to read it.
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Oh, your daughter’s conversation made me laugh. So funny, Jina. The other stuff not so much. This virus has been going on for a year and that wears so thin. Hopefully vaccines are on their way to you and pretty soon things will improve. Writing took a huge hit with me last summer. Every word felt like a battle. I have no trick. I slogged. But I know that things will get better. Take care of yourself, so when the time comes, you’ll be ready and the writing will flow.
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I’m slogging along, one baby step at a time. It’s progress, slow as it can be – and frustrating, but it’s progress nonetheless.
My daughter is a sweet, very naïve and kind kid. She doesn’t like math much, but she loves all other subjects. My youngest, 1st grader, on the other hand, is fascinated with numbers and loves math, but no other subject. They balance each other out 😉
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BTW, my grandson told me that he’s only 7, but he was delighted that I thought he was already 8. 🙂
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Please take care, the pandemic is still swinging this way and that. Hope you get your turn with the vaccine soon.
Your daughters conversation was quite amusing, maths skills irrespective. I think most of us learnt the actuals behind the maths long after academic years. I get to see similar funny maths skills in my daughter, but at least this year I was at home to witness that. For the heaps of blame I put on it, I won’t blame covid for this.
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Watching children learn is an enjoyable part of my life, Dev. Hopefullly soon, we’ll all be able to put this whole pandemic behind us.
Thanks for the visit and have a nice day!
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I know the feeling, Jina. I feel like I suddenly have ADD. Maybe it’s because I’ve been working from home for a year now, but focus is definitely something I’m lacking these days. It has gotten better over the course of the pandemic and I am forcing myself to at least try and write every couple of days. It’s working. Hope you find some time to get some writing down. Maybe try medidation. That helps me, until my wanders. Waiting for the vaccine here in Canada too. It has been slow going, and I don’t expect a shot until the fall. Be well and stay safe!
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Thank you – and likewise!
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Homeschooling takes on a whole o mea
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*a whole new meaning (stupid wordpress)! 😉
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Hahah, mine is possessed too.
And it’s a nightmare!
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🤣🤣
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The blame is laid in the right place 🙂 There are times when all we can do it batten down the hatches and get through. I hope the stick that the carrot is attached to keeps getting shorter, not longer. Sounds like you’re doing an amazing job – sorry it means missing out on time to be alone and to create.
The world crosses its fingers, toes, arms, everything, hoping.
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My fingers are getting crooked from too much crossing, so I’m now crossing my eyes 😉
Thanks for the lovely comment and have a wonderful evening….
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I’m with you on the Covid thing. At least here in the US, the media seems like its trying to keep us in angst, so we keep paying attention. Blaming the people is the same though.
I wrote exactly five short stories in 2020. Wrote a bunch of prepping articles, too, but writing any longer narrative was out of the question. So, I get you on that one, too.
Love the funny parenting moment. I think we’ve all had them. : )
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Are there any tasks you can set aside for now, to give you less to focus on and more time/energy to focus on writing?
Before Covid I could manage blogging, working, my partner’s work stress, university classes, writing and other things all at once. After Covid hit I couldn’t juggle so many things at once anymore, because I was constantly checking the news and worrying. I think so much of our energy right now is focused on the pandemic, and as a result we have less energy for other things. Now I’ve graduated I’m writing again, but I’m still doing less than before the pandemic. I think the best we can do is prioritise taking care of ourselves/our families and write whenever we can.
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I like your daughter’s approach to math. It’s right up there with mine.
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your sarcasm – which I love – more than makes up for any mathematical equation. Thanks for the visit and apologies for the late response!
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Thanks for that. My math teachers never thought so, but I can’t say I blame them for that.
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That’s because math teachers come from another planet. They can’t understand the simplicity of life 😉
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Something to help with focus that helps me is inhaling a drop or two of Peppermint essential oil (in my palms with a dab of coconut oil) first thing as I’m making my coffee every morning! Try it and let me know if it helps!
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That sounds refreshing too! We don’t have eo’s here in my village, but I’m definitely getting both when lockdown lifts. Thanks for the visit, Kim, and for the tip.
Sorry for the late response too.
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That story is absolutely hilarious.
As to what you can do… I’m not sure but I’ve been trying something and I quite like it. It does require getting up earlier than you normally would (it was and still is an adjustment) and writing 3 pages by hand of whatever comes to mind. Listen to yourself and the environment around you.
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If I wake up any earlier, it’ll still be dark outside. I’m usually up around 6 am – the house is quiet, the kids asleep, and I can hear myself thinking!
Thanks for dropping by, Sam, and so sorry for the late response!
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My friend told me her daughter is scared of mice in her bedroom because one ran across her pillow and I said it was covid’s fault. Everyone is stuck at home, people eat more, people eat more in rooms other than the kitchen or dining room, crumbs fall, attract mice, and her daughter has a mouse parading across her bed. If I work hard enough at it, I could blame covid for any problem I care to name. Hope you’re doing better with your writing!
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Exactly! There isn’t one thing going wrong in the world that can’t be blamed on covid!
Thanks for the visit and sorry for the late response.
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It has an impact on all of us. Prayers that it goes away sooner or later.
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Great post Jina. In Canada, we’re experiencing a third wave (??)…I’ve sort of lost track tbh. The vaccine roll out has been very slow but I’ll blame covid. I think the catchall is perfect. Thanks. Glad to see you back.
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Sorry that you’re going into the fourth lock down. In Britain, our borders are now virtually closed, although they’re likely to open again very soon. We’ve got a lot of the population vaccinated now, so I’m really hoping that we don’t have to go through another lock down. I’ve spent so much time remotely teaching my classes from home, whilst also trying to get my own children to complete their work online. It’s been a tough year for everyone, and I don’t think you can do anything but go at your own pace. I do know that I get more writing done when I decide on a time, even an hour, when I’ll write the next day, then stick to it.
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I imagine it’s harder on parents who are also teachers. We’ve lifted lockdowns and kids are back in school, though the pace the Ministry of Education set is cringe-worthy. I imagine many kids will fail this year.
Writing wise, I’m back on track, though I still get those blank gaps where I can’t focus.
Thanks for the visit and here’s hoping this crisis ends soon.
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I’ve heard people get fuzzy brains after COVID, oh sorry your daughter hasn’t had COVID … but keen to be a teacher dominating with her own incorrect answer at such a young age … she’ll be ideal, just like most of my teachers 🙂
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