On lockdown
We have been in lockdown due to Covid19 since mid March and have just entered in to the easing off period this week, about 3 months after the start of lockdown. Bar a little outing for an Easter Egg hunt on Easter Sunday (don't scream at me this is not what you think, all will be revealed later), we had stayed home entirely for the 3 months, having all our necessities delivered to our home by couriers who practiced social distancing. There was a fair amount of screaming 'thank you' down the street at the back of the courier who had rung the door bell and then ran for it. One particular courier company required a photo of the recipient with the parcel as proof of delivery. This was a rather awkward scenario to start with but our regular delivery guy and I soon got the hang of it and began to chat and laugh while he stood at our gate taking a picture of me in my PJs at my door with the parcel(s) at my feet. We got quite friendly and I might even miss being home all the time to collect the parcels and talk to a constant companion that had appeared at my door, sometime a few times a week, during these trying times.
I say trying but perhaps that is a bit too dramatic. It has certainly been trying on the work front as it meant that we had to push things back at work and I hate delays. The situation has also created a lot of uncertainties about the future so it is difficult to plan ahead from a logistics standpoint as we just don't really know what to expect. My other half feels roughly the same regarding his work situation.
On the other hand, the family has coped remarkably well being locked in together. My little boy is enjoying not having to rush and travel to anything: he rolls out of bed, has a leisurely breakfast, does a couple of hours of school work, has a couple of hours for lunch break, does another two hours of school work, half hour of exercise, half hour on the piano, and he is done for the day. Our cat loves spending time with him and is often found sleeping by my little boy while he worked at his desk (that is when he isn't sleeping on top of my son's school work). Although there is a sort of schedule, we are fairly relaxed about when my son actually does things as long as they are done. He gets to speak with his cousin and friends online if he feels like it and they engage in computer games, painting, lego building, etc whilst they talk. And boy do they have interesting conversations!
We are spending a lot more time together as a family- we have breakfast, lunch and dinner together and we take the time to chat so we are properly aware of what each other is doing, feeling or thinking. And with the us helping my son with his school work, we are more aware of what kind of support he needs and what we are not providing for him. If anything, I will really miss this closeness when we return to 'normal'. Of course it requires effort- my husband and I are essentially juggling 1.5 jobs each whilst trying to fill in the human interaction gap for all of us. Initially I tried to keep to a strict schedule myself as I wanted to avoid slipping into the habit of working at night. However, once I gave myself permission to do that, I actually felt more relaxed during the day and was able to enjoy the day a lot more.
As many others, I have taken to making sourdough bread, and have been keeping my own starter. We named him William, and William seems to have a mind of his own. So far, he seems to be growing much more quickly than expected so I have been using the excess for pancakes, scones, etc. We have been eating a lot of baked goods. I think the sourdough bread phenomenon is a symbol of people slowing down- it takes about 2 days to get a loaf of bread from start to finish so this is definitely not fast food. However, having all the time in the world means that doesn't matter. It seems people also feel they have the time to be caring of each other. One such example of unexpected kindness is the spontaneous organisation of a neighbourhood Easter Egg Hunt, by neighbours without children, as a thank you for all the children who have drawn rainbows for the neighbours to put in their windows in a fund-raising activity for local charities. The idea is ingenious: organisers display a letter in their window which when put together makes a phrase. The children were asked to hunt for the letters in their daily walk and then to message the phrase to the organisers together with the magic number (the sum of all the house numbers in which letters were displayed). Children who got the correct answers received a delivery from the Easter Bunny which was left on their doorstep and the parents were alerted via a message once the delivery had been made. There was a real buzz around the neighbourhood over this activity and I, for one, was left feeling all warm and fuzzy. It was this activity that led to us leaving the house for about 20 minutes on Easter Sunday. We had otherwise been really happy in each other's company.
As the new normal beckons, I can't help but think that the new normal will not be the same as what we left behind three months ago. And I have a feeling that we will actually end up better for it. My heart goes out to all those who have suffered in these weird times. Of course I realise that there has been a lot of hardship. However, I think it is fair to say that there can be positives, i.e. we can make something positive out of this if we reflect on our own experiences during this period and try to take positive steps for the future.
I say trying but perhaps that is a bit too dramatic. It has certainly been trying on the work front as it meant that we had to push things back at work and I hate delays. The situation has also created a lot of uncertainties about the future so it is difficult to plan ahead from a logistics standpoint as we just don't really know what to expect. My other half feels roughly the same regarding his work situation.
On the other hand, the family has coped remarkably well being locked in together. My little boy is enjoying not having to rush and travel to anything: he rolls out of bed, has a leisurely breakfast, does a couple of hours of school work, has a couple of hours for lunch break, does another two hours of school work, half hour of exercise, half hour on the piano, and he is done for the day. Our cat loves spending time with him and is often found sleeping by my little boy while he worked at his desk (that is when he isn't sleeping on top of my son's school work). Although there is a sort of schedule, we are fairly relaxed about when my son actually does things as long as they are done. He gets to speak with his cousin and friends online if he feels like it and they engage in computer games, painting, lego building, etc whilst they talk. And boy do they have interesting conversations!
We are spending a lot more time together as a family- we have breakfast, lunch and dinner together and we take the time to chat so we are properly aware of what each other is doing, feeling or thinking. And with the us helping my son with his school work, we are more aware of what kind of support he needs and what we are not providing for him. If anything, I will really miss this closeness when we return to 'normal'. Of course it requires effort- my husband and I are essentially juggling 1.5 jobs each whilst trying to fill in the human interaction gap for all of us. Initially I tried to keep to a strict schedule myself as I wanted to avoid slipping into the habit of working at night. However, once I gave myself permission to do that, I actually felt more relaxed during the day and was able to enjoy the day a lot more.
As many others, I have taken to making sourdough bread, and have been keeping my own starter. We named him William, and William seems to have a mind of his own. So far, he seems to be growing much more quickly than expected so I have been using the excess for pancakes, scones, etc. We have been eating a lot of baked goods. I think the sourdough bread phenomenon is a symbol of people slowing down- it takes about 2 days to get a loaf of bread from start to finish so this is definitely not fast food. However, having all the time in the world means that doesn't matter. It seems people also feel they have the time to be caring of each other. One such example of unexpected kindness is the spontaneous organisation of a neighbourhood Easter Egg Hunt, by neighbours without children, as a thank you for all the children who have drawn rainbows for the neighbours to put in their windows in a fund-raising activity for local charities. The idea is ingenious: organisers display a letter in their window which when put together makes a phrase. The children were asked to hunt for the letters in their daily walk and then to message the phrase to the organisers together with the magic number (the sum of all the house numbers in which letters were displayed). Children who got the correct answers received a delivery from the Easter Bunny which was left on their doorstep and the parents were alerted via a message once the delivery had been made. There was a real buzz around the neighbourhood over this activity and I, for one, was left feeling all warm and fuzzy. It was this activity that led to us leaving the house for about 20 minutes on Easter Sunday. We had otherwise been really happy in each other's company.
As the new normal beckons, I can't help but think that the new normal will not be the same as what we left behind three months ago. And I have a feeling that we will actually end up better for it. My heart goes out to all those who have suffered in these weird times. Of course I realise that there has been a lot of hardship. However, I think it is fair to say that there can be positives, i.e. we can make something positive out of this if we reflect on our own experiences during this period and try to take positive steps for the future.
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