Probably easier to explain rather than remain vague about 'family'.
My father died about three weeks ago after being in hospital for a couple of weeks and then in a hospice for the following five weeks. Both he and my mother live in the UK and I live on the Isle of Man which, for those who don't realise, is a separate country with its own laws and government. The Isle of Man closed its borders in March due to Covid and I was unable to reach the UK. In fact, I could leave but then I wouldn't be allowed back. I have responsibilities here with my own family and my job so I was unable to visit my dying father, although we did manage a video conference close to the end.
Two days after he died, the island changed the rules, which meant my wife and I could visit the UK on compassionate grounds and be allowed back on the island. We've managed to eradicate Covid on the island (no cases in 40 days) and the government is understandably keen to maintain that situation, so I had obtain permission to travel and return (a lot of form-filling and providing evidence, etc.). It took eight days to get that permission, which cut it fine, but were able to travel in time for the funeral on Thursday last week (we arrived in UK three hours before the service and then still had to travel 40 miles) and I was able to deliver the eulogy. There are only fifteen people allowed at funerals in the UK at the moment, but it actually seemed better with a small number.
I arrived back on the island on Wednesday this week (there are only only two repatriation sailings per week and very limited numbers allowed) and we are now in quarantine for 14 days. The police on the island take quarantine very seriously and will be checking on us. It's three months in jail and a large fine if we aren't here when they check. I think one of the reasons the island managed to clear the virus so fast is the police here do not mess around - very friendly and helpful but zero tolerance and harsher punishments in general than the UK. Probably why we have such a low (almost non-existent) crime rate.
Anyway, suffice to say that for the last few weeks I haven't had a lot of enthusiasm for fixing bugs or adding new functionality, although I have played some of my campaign to distract myself. My family here (wife, two children and one grand-child) is very close and supportive of each other and my mother in the UK is a strong person who is dealing with the situation as well as anyone could, plus she has support from other family members and neighbours, so the situation is as good as it could be under the circumstances.
Life is returning to something close to normal now, so I should be more productive with Aurora in the next few weeks.
