As everyone keeps saying, these are unprecedented times. They’re bound to change us. So I was expecting it, but I didn’t realise it would happen so quickly.
Day five of quarantine, and I genuinely do not recognise the person I have become.
Now follows a sentence I never, in my wildest nightmares, thought I would ever type. I agree with Piers Morgan.
No one is more shocked than me. My entire life up to this point has been spent disagreeing with Piers Morgan. Violently. Passionately. Across the board, on absolutely everything. Whatever he thought, I definitely fervently believed the opposite. And yet, somehow, Piers Morgan has become the voice of reason.
He’s been challenging Boris Johnson – almost like the unofficial opposition – putting pressure on him, holding him to account for his baffling, dithering and weak leadership.
Piers Morgan has also been trying to educate the – bekindbekindbekind – misinformed minority who think it’s OK to go out, and hang around, in crowds.
He’s using his massive multi-media platform (seven million followers on Twitter alone) to campaign for NHS workers, stick up for the elderly and unwell, and to demand action.
And guess what? It’s working. His skills – being reductive, banging on endlessly – have finally come into their own.
And if agreeing with Piers wasn’t bad enough, every day this week we’ve done the Joe Wicks YouTube PE lesson as a family.
Me 10 days ago would have punched present day me in the face, just after puking, if I’d seen me. But this is who I am now, apparently. When my son started to waver, I found myself saying, “Come on! We can do this!” and you know what? I meant it. Ugh.
I’m also talking to all of my neighbours – the majority of whom I have never met in real life... this is London – on a street WhatsApp group, bursting with community spirit, compassion and friendliness.
Normally just the idea of this would make me roll my eyes so hard there would be a very real possibility of permanent blindness.
Instead, today we’re all drawing rainbows of hope to put in our windows and I’m not just getting involved, I am genuinely looking forward to it. WHO AM I?
This crisis has – like they all do – brought out the very best and worst of people. It’s easy to be consumed by the worst... the photos of the – bekindbekindbekind – misinformed minority out and about as if nothing’s going on, the stockpilers, the selfishness.
But in the last five days, since my home went on lockdown after my son had some possible symptoms, I’ve been in tears many times.
Not at how annoying my family are – although that too, obviously – but at the kindness of strangers. And friends, colleagues, neighbours. The shopping left on our doorstep.
The unexpected care package, full of thought, generosity and, more importantly, wine. The chocolate bars posted through our letterbox.
This is the stuff we have to cling on to. This is what will get us through. And then, when things get back to normal – and they will, let’s try not to forget – hopefully this will be what we remember, what pervades.
And then we can all get back to hating Piers Morgan again, and what a blessed relief that will be.
