“I always keep myself busy.”
I tip my hat to the management and staff who did their best to keep up our spirits during the quarantine period, which wasn’t easy for anyone. They invited singers to come, we did line dancing on the balcony, and they organized Bingo with no more than 15 people at a time to respect the two-metre distance.
We were quite worried at first, like many people, about the extent of the pandemic. My husband has respiratory problems but with all the steps they took to keep us safe, we quickly felt reassured. The head nurse here is extraordinary. She explained the instructions to us and the reasons for applying them.
I am a cook by trade so I cook a lot to keep busy, and I baked bread, of course, like a lot of people. I organize the cards evenings in the complex here and I especially miss being able to play cards in the salon and chat with people. Of course, we also missed our families but we kept in touch by telephone and FaceTime. My daughter came to visit us and I went out on the balcony to chat with her. As of just recently, we can go into the salon to meet people while keeping at a distance. The hair and beauty salon has reopened. Bit by bit, life is returning to normal.
I am a big walker in life and I usually walk five kilometres every day. Fortunately, during the quarantine we could go out walking in the courtyard and take some deep breaths of fresh air. So, I walked the length and breadth of the building several times to reach my five kilometres [laughs].
My husband and I read a lot. We set up on the balcony with a good book and did hidden-word puzzles. That keeps the brain busy! It was comforting to be together. After 58 years of marriage, I think I’ll keep him [laughs].