DAIS Screen Glare
DAISY JARVIS
I can’t stop staring at my face on the screen
The new narcissistic reality that we all find ourselves in. Yes, fine, some may stare more than others. I can’t see my dad staring and caring about the small patch of stubble he missed in the daily shave. But I think we can all admit that we have our moments of staring at our faces in this weird new box we spend a high proportion of our lives in.
Aside from the face staring, this form of communication is our life. It is our new normal.
So, Dais, when you are back from Australia, you will not be allowed to leave the house, except to buy fresh fruit and veg, semi-skimmed milk, houmous, copious amounts of crisps and the handful of chocolate bars you can sneak across the checkout without Pete seeing (mini eggs the most recent checkout success.)
You will also have to communicate with loved ones online, including a daily call with the Cakebread clan. All the same faces, all shown on a new medium. The theory in these habitual chats seems a lot, but indeed the practice is somewhat very different. 20 Cakebread call’s later, including 2 bread baking classes, 1 pub quiz and 1 pizza class, and I can say it has been a truly lovely experience. A bit of familiarity, a bit of laughter and a lot of love.
It is important to remember that this is not a long-term plan. We will not be sat housebound in 6 months’ time waiting for lockdown to lift (we hope!) Never had I seen Kate’s face on the screen before- ok it’s still the same Katy. But there is a difference. There isn’t the hug, or the tummy pokes or the frivolous frolicking around the kitchen 10,000 Cava glasses down.
But you know what, there is something about the calls which lifts the mood in our little home, makes us take ourselves out of the housebound bodies we find ourselves in, and remind us why roots and family are the glue that really hold our lives together. When we can eventually dance around the kitchen drowning in Cava together, we will all be more grateful than ever to be in the presence of our loved ones. But for now, the screen is our sanity, and our hope, and will continue to be the clarity in our more challenging, albeit temporary realities.
