Isolation diaries part 20: Border bonanza

By Andrew Johnston

Nov 10, 2020

HAPPY 20th isolation diary, readers!

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Happy days are here again!

(Just eat a thousand pies).

Another amazing week for us here.

Sure, it would have been nice to have seen the borders open immediately, but what can you do?

After everything else which has happened, to be honest, I’m just happy it’s open at all.

Now we can freely travel from beyond our border bubble, as we can freely travel within our own state.

Every step of progress is something to celebrate, but this one feels bigger than most.

Firstly, back to just usual issues getting across the bridge at peak hour, not all day as we wait for someone to check our permits.

That’s something.

But more so, from talking to a lot of people around the community, it seems as though a lot of us have family in NSW beyond the end of the border bubble.

Personally, I have a sister a few hours away, and an aunt and her family in the ACT.

I get to go and see them soon, and to be honest, that’s fantastic.

I’m not alone in that, no doubt.

I think a lot of people who are reading this column are probably planning in their heads for when they get to make the trip to see the ones who matter to them the most.

I said as much last week, but it really does feel like it’s all coming together now.

Everyone is just happier with the world around them.

The reality is while the virus is still out there - and we have to remember that - we have all done an excellent job in containing it for the most part.

Victoria is no longer the evil member of the family who is spreading the condition at a massive rate.

Far from it - we’ve actually got our numbers below a lot of other states.

That seemed impossible not that long ago.

Now, by no means are we out of the woods at this point.

We’re still in the middle of a pandemic after all.

But, at least the hard work many have been through in recent weeks and months has ended up being worth it after all.

And, as a result, we get a bit of freedom out of it.

That’s something worth celebrating.

I’m celebrating by spending time with my sister’s dog in a few weeks (not to mention my sister and her partner).

I haven't seen them since my birthday, so I will be excited to get to spend some time with them again.

And I hope all our readers get to see someone they love soon.

It definitely no longer feels like the mind-numbing isolation we were in even a few weeks ago.