Red-letter day

I say it again: I would have been lost without my favourite cousin Sharon during the covid-19 restrictions. As soon as cocooning began she offered to do my shopping for me. Naturally, I accepted. A routine developed which had me emailing a shopping list to her on Thursday mornings. She usually combined my shopping with her own, keeping my bags separate and dropping them off, usually around noon.

She lives really nearby, but up until the pandemic we'd only occasionally be in touch and even less frequently see one another. This morning I sent off the tenth (!) and final list, since retail outlets are required to set aside designated times for over-70s from next Monday and I'll be able to do my own shopping from then. Before today's drop-off we'd only once been unable to sit outside and spend an hour or so chatting over coffee. Being outside wasn't an option today either since it was cloudy and chilly, and I suggested that, rather than drop off the bags and head back home immediately, we spend time together inside. We did that, had our longest-ever chat session (two hours plus), and parted with protestations of keeping in touch from now on. We left it that I'll give her a call next time I'm near her place and will do the dropping in.

Thanks Sharon for everything. You're the best!