Blog 33 – It is good to be a Benjamin

Life in London – during the coronavirus pandemic!

It is weird everywhere with everyone I know; trapped at home taking our best care of ourselves and our loved ones. What a difference a month makes.

March 1 Andy and I were still enjoying our coastal cruise of Norway (blog 31). We were having a great time and this ‘virus thing’ seemed a million miles away. When we returned to London in a few days, we had plans to see a few more West End shows; Waitress with Sara Bareilles, Wicked, and Magic Goes Wrong. We were scheduling our preliminary trip to Amsterdam for the 23^rd when we would open the bank accounts and take care of setting up utilities for the newly rented apartment so come April 1 we would be ready to move to Amsterdam.

Ha, that feels like a lifetime ago.

Since all those plans were made, borders have closed in hopes of containing the virus, we cannot go to the Netherlands; not for planning, not for moving. So, we are here; still in London, still in our rented house in Chiswick – and still covered by the NHS. Andy’s new start date in Amsterdam has been changed to May 15 – we are not optimistic this will stick but are working toward that date none-the-less. We are so lucky. Lucky to have Coty’s teams of consultants working on our situation to literally pack up our stuff here in London and ship some to the US and some to Amsterdam. A thousand details that would have been just ordinary work just a few months ago have become hurdles that must each be addressed. So lucky.

We are not suffering. Many people are suffering, we are not. We are adjusting. Adjusting to Andy working at home, which is fine, we did not use the dining room anyway. Adjusting to eating every meal at home, with most of those being self-prepared. Who knew at this late date I would fall back on detailed meal planning generating detailed shopping lists to buy an entire week’s worth of groceries at one time. Susy Homemaker, indeed. Adjusting to the UK’s virus guidelines; stay two meters apart, socialize only with members of your household, go out only for necessities and exercise outside once per day.

It’s all good. We are healthy and hope to stay that way. We have internet. We have cell phones. We have water and electricity. We have soap. And, we have toilet paper. It is still good to be a Benjamin.