A Conversation With My March 2020 Self

March 2020 Lucy “The stay at home order in New York is only going to be for a few weeks, right?”

August 2021 Lucy “Actually… a little longer. You’ll choose to stay indoors for over 2 months. But it’ll be ok”

“Whoa. Do we get covid?”

“No. Staying inside and masking really works.”

“Great, so New York life is normal for us now?”

“Actually, you moved back to Australia in September”

“Oh. Because it’s covid-free and safe there?”

“Well, also no. But on the plus-side, we got a puppy”

“Ok… are we at least protected somehow? Is there a vaccine?”

“Yes. Several types. We’ve had two doses of Pfizer. But there’s still thousands of people waiting to get their doses and the rest of the world is way ahead of us”

“But we’re ok because Australia is an island with strict border control…right?”

“Also, no. The government failed to set up adequate quarantine facilities with separate ventilation, so Covid-19 kept escaping the hotel quarantine system in a variety of ways”

“Even though we had vaccines?”

“Oh, not all the staff involved were vaccinated.  Because Scott Morrison didn’t order enough”

“Is life back to normal now at least?”

“Also, no. We’re in lockdown for 9 weeks and counting….there’s a worse variant called Delta… the NSW Premier, Gladys, really fucked things up for us by delaying a proper lockdown. But we’re probably getting another puppy, so…”

“OK… are people at least taking it seriously this time and staying home? And wearing their masks?”

“Oh…also, no. We went for a walk yesterday and saw 35 out of 50 people not wearing a mask at all. But on the plus side… Gladys is allowing unvaxxed weddings with 5 guests and vaxxed picnics in a few weeks…”

“Ummm… Ok…Is there anything else you can tell me now that you think would help me get through the next 2 years?”

“Don’t let your guard down. Keep wearing masks indoors. Get vaxxed. Try not to doom-scroll, but trust your gut and research scientific fact-based info. Listen to experts. Go for walks. Buy a Pilates reformer. Eat well. And be patient. There’ll be some other good positives this year, amongst all the sadness. I promise.”