Today is Wednesday, 1 July 2020 and marks day 100 of quarantine for us in Sydney. I know that because I’ve spent every day since Tuesday 24 March writing a journal to document this crazy time on our planet. Day 1 is marked as the day my three girls came home from school & we started sliding into “iso”.
I’m not going to lie - those first few weeks were pretty rough, particularly for my 16-year old, grappling with the implosion of her social life. My middle-child’s happy place is curled up in her bed so she was less traumatised. My baby is vice-captain at her primary school this year and so for her, it was the realisation that there would be no leadership opportunities for the foreseeable future.
Throw into this unprecedented situation (well, in our lifetime) the fact that my father-in-law was very quickly losing his battle with pancreatic cancer, a prognosis only dealt to him on 22 December.
My husband was able to share his time between working from home and caring for his dad, ensuring he was able to die peacefully at his home, with his wife and both sons by his side. Covid gave my husband and his brother a welcome chance to spend quality time and have meaningful conversations with their dad. Covid also took away the opportunity for the whole community to celebrate a life well-lived, with just 10 of us at his graveside on a bitterly cold afternoon on Friday, 1 May (day 39).
My great joy is that I captured this image of Brian in 2018, in his happy place on the farm in Cowra, where he spent his whole life. It reminds me of the treasures that live in images and that while being a photographer is a long way from being an ‘essential service’ as classified during these iso times, it does serve as an essential archive of our lives on this planet.
His illness and the precarious nature of all our lives inspired me to undertake a photo project in those early weeks, keeping me creatively distracted. Project Stuck saw me visit around 40 local families and capture them at home.
It gave me the chance to laugh and interact and find out how other families were coping. I rode to some of the shoots, I walked my dog to others. I stayed local and loved those conversations and relaxed afternoons. I loved hearing about how people were spending the time - bushwalking, puzzles, swimming, playing with new puppy dogs, cooking, reading, Netflixing, dancing, TikToking and generally embracing the chance to slow down.
I love that the images captured in this project were used for Mother’s Day gifts, printed on canvas and acrylic and put into frames and will hopefully serve as a reminder to live each day and hug each other and focus on what’s important. That we can look back and be utterly grateful for the lives we live.
Some of my favourite photos from Project Stuck
My best friend, a Qantas flight attendant for over 20 years, was dealt the harshest blow with Covid, being stood down from a job that she lives for. She glows with goodness, this friend of mine and we often talk about how our friendship ‘fills our buckets’ when they have been drained and that sentiment is the philosophy of my refreshed attempt at blogging.
One of the core ways I have kept my bucket full during Covid has been my rediscovery of the ocean. While the Eastern Suburbs beaches were all closed down, Manly continued to allow visitors to exercise, swim and depart, which is what I did. Multiple times a week. I joined that crazy group of swimmers that lap from Manly - Shelly Beach and back and it gave me joy, clarity, a sense of wellbeing and an extra skip in my step!
My only apparel purchases during the past 100 days have been an Orca wetsuit and a rather fetching neoprene swim cap, such is my dedication to this new pursuit! Fashion and dignity be damned, I’m going swimming!
I’m going to keep on swimming through winter, filling my bucket as I chase cuttlefish and gropers and soak up the winter sun. Covid has taken away all our chances of international adventures for some time so there will be no travels to fill my bucket, except maybe a sneaky 4 nights away … in Manly!
What do you do to fill your bucket?