Lockdown 16/28 – Good Friday

Day 16 of my diary of a LOTR Fan Museum owner during our 4 week national lockdown - in NZ we’re uniting as a country to beat Covid-19 to break the chain and save lives, but …

It’s sooooo hard today to do this new job of STAY HOME, be kind. The second part’s OK, but the stay home bit is grrrrr. First, it’s a big day in my church, and secondly we have a longstanding family ritual of getting together to watch a musical (the pic below is from Good Friday in happier times).

I’m making my peace with the former, and our family is being creative with the second. Each bubble will choose a musical and we’ll all watch at the same time. This extends even to the daughter in China, though work and time-zones mean she’ll be doing it tonight. Some good choices: we’re watching Strictly Ballroom (not “strictly” a musical, but full of music and dance), Little Shop of Horrors for the Auckland bubble, America Team Police for some of the younger set, and Chess for mama, sister and niece in the Wairarapa. Some haven’t landed yet, but I’m expecting the final choices to roll in during the morning.

As Frodo and Sam did in the woods leaving the Shire, we will all stop and listen, hearing singing in the distance, voices sweet and high, singing in a strange language … . Appropriate nod to JRR for the bitter-sweet of losing something precious while still carrying on.

And, we’ll be breaking out the hot cross buns of course, so not at all bad! There was such a beautiful Easter moon last night too. And, we’re feeling more hopeful as a country about beating Covid-19 because of our collective action. But amidst it all, the crisis continues to ravage, and I’m just gutted about the destruction in the Pacific from cyclone Harold.

But our day still feels special and sacred. My heart goes out to everyone who can’t experience the specialness of family closeness, particularly if this is a sacred time of year for you. Best wishes, Kathy xx