The comment I get a lot during The Weird, is 'you must be painting all the time and getting so much work done'. Well, no, I haven't.
Lockdown has been a strange experience.
I think I am dealing with it just fine, but the anxiety comes out in different ways. For me, it is feeling overly exhausted and taking a lot of naps.
Now that the restrictions are easing further, I find myself wanting to retreat inside even more often. I have no desire to go to the pub, go to the mall, or go shopping. I cringe when I see photos of people standing way too close together and ignoring social distancing or not wearing masks. I have started back at my part-time job, at the National Park, and have been struggling with the changes. I am comfortable with my job duties, but it is all the extra layers that are now on top of it, that are stressful. We now work behind plastic screens, have to clean every surface before using things, have a one-way system into the shop that people don't pay attention to, and generally having to overthink every single move. It is tiring.
At this point, I don't know when my next burst of creative energy will come. But, I have to be okay with not knowing. In the meantime, I will continue to watch the clouds, listen to the birds, and get into nature as much as I can.
