Wash my good intentions

At the end of last year and at the beginning of this year I had decided that things really had to go differently and I had asked myself full of enthusiasm. What were those things that got in my way and how could I change this? When I had that in a row I started with the preparations - and that was not that easy yet - and also a bit with the execution. But since the Corona measures they have been completely stationary, I am standing still and I notice that I am starting to have trouble with them now.

1. I was tired of my car. I realized I didn't drive it enough to justify the costs it incurred. I paid road taxes for roads I didn't use, I paid insurance that I wouldn't appeal to since that thing was more on the sidewalk than I was driving it. I paid an ANWB subscription for help I didn't have to turn on. The APK was executed nicely. And so step 1 was to get rid of the car, buy an OV card and take the bike more often. I was already walking a lot but for the longer distances I would now use the bicycle and public transport. Better for the globe we live on and also for my wallet. Actually, it was still doable until Corona broke out. Public transport was reduced, the shops closed, and in my case the closure of the borders or the restrictions on entry to our neighbours was a minor disaster. I must confess that sometimes I miss my car because the measures do not allow me to get out of the way.

2. On a personal level, I decided to take more time for myself. Well, more time, actually I just mean to take some time for myself because I haven't taken that time for myself for years. And when I wondered what makes me genuinely happy and happy, it's traveling and just being away. That gives me energy and that inspires. And so I decided not to sleep at home for one night every month. Little steps, huh? I also didn't care if I would be alone or if my family members would come with me if I stayed at least 1 night somewhere other than home. So said, so done. In January I went to stay with my oldest daughter in Amsterdam, in February I spent a few days with partner and 2 kids to Belgium near the French border and that was wonderful. March was not yet determined where I would go but it was in which weekend I would be “free”, April was already booked and then Corona arrived and since then I have been home. In March I did not feel that bad, in April I took into account that I would not be able to go and now it is May and I find that I am getting restless at the prospect that my good intentions might probably be completely unworkable in the coming months.

3. I have been aggravated by packaging for years on everything I buy. I've been doing pretty good for years now. I recycle, I reuse, I buy second-hand, I don't throw away anything that's good, and what's not used here I give away or I sell it so it gets a second life. I collect clothes that other people would throw away and make it come to people who can and want to use it. I freeze what I cooked too much and eat it myself later or give it to people who are happy with it. I'll go to the market, see the farmer if I can. I properly separate my garbage, have a water barrel in the garden. My car was running LPG, etc. ect. ect. so actually I was already doing well but I wanted to take the next step. Packaging free. In part I did this already but partly so not yet but I thought that had to be different. And the cases I've been dealing with for years, I would have decided to solve by now. So I started by purchasing and collecting my own reusable packaging material and looking for addresses where I could buy pack-free. Where I live, this is not a matter of course, and I do not know anyone who does this, and that is not so strange, because we hardly have that opportunity here. So I assumed that I would be in the starting blocks by April at the latest but March was my goal and then came Covid-19 and the measures. In Liège there is a shop where I can go shopping with my own jars but I will not let Belgium enter and in Aachen there is also one. Right across the border is not a problem to get groceries but to get to Aachen I really have to move into the country and that is not allowed and so I am perfectly on the bench with my good intentions. There seems to be a shop in Maastricht that does sell some unpacked bulk but to go there on my bike or by public transport is not to do. The mark is my only option yet, were it not for the fact that it does not continue regularly because the Germans are allowed to cross the border and did so massively, which means that the market with real choice has been cancelled for weeks. The area where some farm shops are located was closed for the same reason at the weekend and that is the moment when my dear could drive me so that option also fell off.

I understand the measures, and I also sit at home and be good. The house is cleaned, we have a rhythm but the longer this lasts the more I notice that I am not only literally standing still but especially figuratively. I can handle literally standing still but figuratively standing still is terrible. I'm really living the life that doesn't suit me right now. Being the proper housewife is not spent on me. It doesn't make me happy. I need goals to function. I need to be able to challenge myself. I need space to move in, especially in my head but also very much like in everyday life. I miss the open borders so much. I'm a person of action not of waiting. I think in solutions and not in problems and a society that only sees bears on the road is a difficult society to live in. I'm from back to basic and I don't understand why our Politics is doing so hard. By that I mean that I think or believe that if they start thinking back to base there are a lot of problems that we all face now can be solved. That many people who are now in a tight corner can regain space and that the economic consequences can be limited. Make sure you test people and see if immunity is built up and base your measures on that. Support the creative entrepreneurs who think about it, support the rural production, close the schools and make sure there are A to Z plans ready for the next school year, use the next few weeks to work out all possible scenarios (do they want to do this during the holidays or stay that “we see it t.z.t. well” attitude persist?). Look at the countries ahead of us, use their knowledge, their research, because we don't have to invent and invent everything ourselves. And make use of Europe! This is the time to be a single Europe, on a human level. And do not abuse Europe just for your own gain, as ICs use Germany and “boycott” Italy. Ensure enough ICs in the Netherlands and work together. Make sure that measures do not contradict each other (outdoor walking is allowed if you keep your distance, outdoor sports can also but pause outside together is not allowed, if you do not know each other, at least if you have not exercised together. As a household you are allowed together on the street without keeping a distance but if you want to sit with that same household on a terrace, you can only do that if you keep your distance) so that people do not have to carry a book when they do something. None of this can be kept up. And then I get straight to point 4.