Samantha Motion: Salvaging a shattered holiday in the coronavirus Covid 19 lockdown

There's only so much loafing around a person can do, even when they are supposed to be relaxing. Photo / Getty Images

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It was going to be the trip of a lifetime.

Ten years in the planning, my best comrade was going to show me around the country of her birth - Russia - before I branched off with my husband to see the sights of Europe.

A month in all.

We talked about going at Christmas but I thought, acclimatised to balmy Bay of Plenty weather as I am, I wouldn't survive a Moscow winter.

So we settled on April 2020.

Ain't hindsight glorious. Should have braved the snow.

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So the trip is off and I'm a bit sad but refusing to wallow in it or complain as many people are far worse off than me in this pandemic.

We looked at doing some travel in New Zealand instead, maybe borrowing a bach or supporting some hard-hit local tourism businesses, but the national lockdown has put paid to that - and rightfully so given the escalating seriousness of the situation.

So it looks like next weekend I'll be packing down the home office cluttering up the kitchen table and starting a holiday at my house.

No visitors, no visiting, no non-essential breaching of the property boundaries at all.

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It's a situation many people who can't do their jobs at home now find themselves in.

Empty days stretching out before them. Weekdays that meld seamlessly into weekends.

I'm not a person who has any trouble relaxing and switching off from work, but there's just something a lot more relaxing about being far from the responsibilities of home.

So some movies will certainly be watched and crosswords completed and fancy cheese eaten, but I'm not sure I can spend the whole lockdown loafing around.

I think I need to achieve some things, too, with so many jobs staring me in the face and to make this feel like a worthy use of annual leave.

After three years in this house, cupboards need the Marie Kondo treatment, pictures that need hanging, a garage is destined for a sort-out basically since we moved in.

The lawn is in desperate need of some love after a long and sprinkler-free summer.

I've planted my victory garden so that will need tending.

I'm not going to pretend this is going to an enriching experience in the same way travel is.

But it doesn't have to be a waste of time or a house maintenance bonanza.

The trick will be finding a happy medium between the two, and remembering we're all in this situation to save lives.

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website