Life in Lockdown. I never thought I would have to write those words. But over three weeks ago, like much of the world, we were told we had to STAY HOME. It isn’t optional and we are doing our very best to protect our health care system and stop the spread of a virus that is causing devastation around the world. Trying to balance my anxiety around illness and death whilst also running a home, supporting the husband who is working full time at home, educating one child and supervising the education of the other, whilst also try to work myself is, shall we say challenging. But we have to do this, we don’t have much choice. This is our weekly diary of how things are going for us.
This week has been easier for us, in many ways. Settling into what is now the new normal. Working from home now is a good routine. We have gone back to normal homeschool routine, rather than pretending to be on Easter break, and we have started morning walks to get us all up and out of the house. The government has just announced three more weeks “at least” of lockdown, so we plod on. Some of our kids’ teachers are doing online dance, Cubs, and violin lessons which is very helpful too, to give them things to do and keep to as “normal life as possible”
One thing I have found hard with life in lockdown is that going out for exercise or to get essential items like groceries means you are exposed to other people. We are told we need to behave like we could have the virus and be spreading it, and to think that of other people too, hence “social distancing” to minimise spread. But it’s frustrating when you feel that you are making a lot of effort and other people are not. It’s hard not to judge when you see someone not keeping their distance or seemingly acting like this pandemic is a joke. I find myself frustrated and then having to check myself. It’s not easy taking small kids out for a walk, so when I see a mum with kids running away from her or not “in her control” I am trying to not judge. But when someone is so busy on their phone in a queue to get into the supermarket that they are almost touching you despite the current two-meter guidelines, I have snapped and said something. Finding a balance between knowing that people are trying their best and trying not to be too phased by what seems like senseless and selfish behavior is mind-bending so we are trying to avoid going out when it’s busier and then I don’t have to get my head around it.
Getting exercise is our other challenge, hence the morning route marches. The kids are now fully embracing Barry the Corona bike for daily cycles stationery in our living room, and I am working on my fitness too. I have found that online Pilates classes don’t fit into my routine, because I need space to do them, and no one around to laugh at how inflexible I am.
Next weekend is the boy’s birthday. He will be ten. I am not ready to accept that he’s actually old enough to be called a “tweenager” and sadly his birthday is in lockdown. He does have plans for when we are able to find some sense of normal life, which are keeping him happy, and I am currently looking for a good recipe for a Jaffa cake cake, which is his request for his birthday cake. He clearly has more faith in his mother’s baking skills than she does of herself.
That ends my rambling and not really very cohesive life in lockdown post for this week.
How are you finding things and are you coping ok?