{"id":39368,"date":"2021-07-19T06:30:51","date_gmt":"2021-07-18T18:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/?p=39368"},"modified":"2021-07-18T14:54:14","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T02:54:14","slug":"this-post-is-just-to-say-dear-readers-i-am-thinking-of-you-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/2021\/07\/19\/this-post-is-just-to-say-dear-readers-i-am-thinking-of-you-all\/","title":{"rendered":"This Post Is Just To Say — Dear Readers, I Am Thinking Of You All"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic began my thoughts have often turned to WALL series readers, wherever you may be in the world\u2014a concern that has increased, pretty much matching the extent to which the Delta variant has taken, and\/or is taking, hold<\/p>\n

\"\"

A 2020 lockdown walk — & no one else there…<\/p><\/div>\n

In some cases, I know a little of your personal circumstances because you\u2019ve shared something of them with me via social. In others, I know where you live (in a \u2018country\u2019 sense, that is\u2014because no, I don\u2019t<\/em> stalk readers on the internet!) and that in several cases those countries are being hard hit by Covid. In the great majority of cases, though, I will never know anything of WALL series readers or their\/your lives\u2014and that is not only completely fine \ud83d\ude09 but under more normal circumstances none of the above would be especially comment worthy.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Putting up the shutters on public contact \u2014 but still writing.<\/p><\/div>\n

With Covid-19, though, we are not living through \u201cnormal times.\u201d I know, too, that Covid has probably already affected all of you in innumerable ways. Although I can imagine and empathise based on news reports, as well as my own circumstances (while remaining keenly aware of my very privileged position here in NZ), I can never completely understand others\u2019 lived experience of the pandemic or know the full extent of what you may be enduring.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Reporting from inside that naturally self-isolating writing life<\/p><\/div>\n

Nonetheless, I wanted to say \u201cout loud\u201d that although this is a book blog and I am (clearly!) not an epidemiologist or public health practitioner, just because I stick, largely, to my bookish \u201cknitting\u201d, does not<\/em> mean that I am not concerned for your wellbeing or the global situation. I am<\/em> concerned, very much so, and actively endeavour to stay abreast of what\u2019s happening globally, and consequently for you all personally.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The writing life in less isolated times<\/p><\/div>\n

Some of the circumstances I\u2019m familiar with include readers of all ages with underlying health conditions that render them particularly vulnerable to Covid 19; those in high contact \/ high risk occupations whose partners or immediate family members have equally high risk conditions; once healthy individuals who have been hit hard by the debilitating effects of Long Covid; and people resident in NZ who have lost both family members and friends to Covid in their countries-of-origin.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Far or near, you’re on my mind<\/p><\/div>\n

I am sure there are many other stories as challenging and potentially devastating, and also that there is no catchphrase or bromide that I can \u201ctrot out\u201d by way of a palliative. The reason I stick to the \u201cbookish knitting\u201d is not indifference, but because it is something I can<\/em> do \u2013 definitely not at the epidemiological or public health end of the spectrum, but in the hopes of offering a positive (albeit very small \u2013 perhaps even infinitesimally small!) respite from everyday realities.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Hoping for light ahead, for all of us.<\/p><\/div>\n

If it helps in any way to share your situation here, then please know that you are always very welcome to do so. Otherwise, to borrow an adage, please “be careful out there\u201d* \u2013 and if possible, let\u2019s keep trying to take care for others, as well as ourselves.<\/p>\n

* \u201cAllegedly\u201d, the original adage is Amish: \u201cBe careful out there, among the English\u201d<\/em> \u2013 or words to like effect, as reproduced in the (classic!) 1985 film, Witness<\/em><\/strong>. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

~*~<\/p>\n

In the spirit of small positives—or what I hope will prove positive, however infinitesimally so—just a headsup that I’ll have a The Chaos Gate<\/em>, The Wall Of Night<\/a> work-in-progress update for you on Thursday. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\"The-Chaos-Gate-The-Wall-Of-Night-Book-Four\"

Onward, onward!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever since the Covid-19 pandemic began my thoughts have often turned to WALL series readers, wherever you may be in the world\u2014a concern that has increased, pretty much matching the extent to which the Delta variant has taken, and\/or is taking, hold In some cases, I know a little of your personal circumstances because you\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39368"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39368\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39380,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39368\/revisions\/39380"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helenlowe.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}