You almost feeling like saying WTF world?
We are living in a really strange time, something that I have never seen before and many others as well, let alone our kids. I’ve never had the experience of being away from school before the term ended with no way of knowing exactly when we’ll go back. Or watching all the shops, cinemas and restaurants shutting down. And the biggest thing of all, being told by our country’s government to stay at home. It is all new and to the littlest people in our lives, it probably doesn’t fully register what’s happening. Their life, which is normally packed full of fun, good times, going out and everything else, has suddenly quietened down significantly. It’s a massive change for them, one they will adapt to probably easier than us adults, but it’s still outside their normal.
Yes, they are hearing about germs, washing hands, trying to keep our distance from other people (for them, their friends) and being home schooled. They are being told holidays and fun events are cancelled, movies aren’t on and they definitely can’t catch up with their friends for a play at the playground. It’s not the end of the world, but it certainly has an impact on them. I think I’ve heard “I’m bored” more times than I can count and this is only day one and it’s a Saturday! I think I’ve explained so many times that we can’t go anywhere and I get lots of eye rolls, so at least that’s somewhat “normal”. I’m not trying to take away from the seriousness of this pandemic, people are extremely sick and so many people are dying, it’s very scary.
I’m not going to lie, I am feeling a bit scared myself. I live with an autoimmune disease that increases my risk of becoming quite sick if I were to catch the virus. I also have family members who are at a very high risk of becoming very ill as well. We are doing our best to adhere to all the advice about reducing the risks and ensuring we stay at home as much as possible. I’m scared for what the future holds for my girls and I’m trying to make life as fun as I can for them at the moment, but it feels like I’m up against a brick wall. We are lucky to have plenty of space at home to run them ragged but man they have lots of energy!
With all the doom and gloom out there at the moment, it’s hard not to feel down and in turn reflect that on to my girls. I know I have zero control over what’s happening out there, but what I am trying to control is how that makes my girls feel. I keep telling them everything will be okay and I’m holding on to lots of hope that it will be. But it’s the unknown that makes it harder. We don’t know how long this may last for (including our home schooling sanity!) but we can only do our best. We’ll keep going like we always do. This will not last forever. One day we’ll look back and remember all the good stuff about spending lots of time together at home. Until then, try to enjoy the ride!