Isolation diaries part 15: and now we wait

By Andrew Johnston

Oct 1, 2020

WE are stuck in something of a waiting game now, aren't we?

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Every step we take forward into our new age of "COVID-normal" feels like a big deal for the first day or so.

And then it doesn't anymore.

After a little while it's back to feeling like nothing is happening, nothing is changing.

And it becomes compounded by the fact we are seeing so much progress around the state.

I'm editing this on Tuesday morning, a day when we have had 15 cases (happy Luke Hodge Day to you all) and have seen the regional rolling average fall to an outstanding 0.3.

It hasn't been since the middle of June (which somehow feels like it was a lifetime ago) when we last had a day of cases in the single digits.

The premier is proud, I'm proud, and you are all proud too.

But that's when I think we start to squirm in our chairs a little bit.

We start to look further beyond the measures that are currently in place.

It doesn't mean we are breaking the rules - far from it.

Instead we sit there and wonder - what's next?.

And more so - when is next?

When do we get to have a few more people at our homes, when do we get to sit at the pub with more friends and when can we take these masks off?

We've all had questions like this in our heads at some point, and we probably will continue to do so.

And that's not an issue in my book.

It's human nature to want to know what's next, to want to have a clue where everything is going and why.

We all want some form of control - a control that has been taken away from us in the past few months.

Who could be blamed for wanting it back?

Who wouldn't want to have all their friends over for a meal?

Who doesn't want to head to the pub and have a parmy or a beer?

Not to mention the grand final is approaching as well.

Daylight savings is just around the corner, the days are getting hotter, it's barbecue weather - these are the days where we start to have a bit more fun.

Sure, we are lucky enough that we can do a lot of these things in a limited setting.

But I think it's natural to want to know when the next step is going to be taken.

Every day a lot of us watch the Victorian premier's press conference waiting for something new.

Maybe that's just a symptom of the times, of being stuck in this weird world for so long that we are desperate for any news about normality.

I get why people are frustrated, but we have to press on.

All we can work with is that things are continuing to get better.

Now all we can do is wait and see what happens next, and when it happens.

ISOLATION DIARIES

Isolation diaries part 14: The end of the line

Isolation diaries part 13: Itâ€™s a beautiful day

Isolation diaries part 12: A road to somewhere, and a penguin parade

Isolation diaries part 11: old friends, bookends