What made me decide to start this blog?
Here we are almost 18 months since the first lockdown. How is that possible, but at the same time has it really only been that long? What happened to you as a mother during that time? Who did you become?
Do you remember the first rumblings of it coming? It seemed so far off to begin with but by the time that week in March was out, our lives had changed forever. The children were home and our world was closing down. Suddenly we feared everything – these were no longer irrational worries of something that “could” happen but very real fears and dangers. I remember watching Boris announce the lockdown and looking around and thinking that our home had now become our whole world. Everything outside of it was now out of bounds and unsafe. I couldn’t even begin to compute what that meant. Thank goodness we didn’t know then how long it would go on for.
In typical mother mode however you rally. You carry on and you make the situation as easy as you can for your children. That first day of homeschooling – the frantic scramble to try and conduct a normal school day routine whilst scouring the internet frantically for resources to show you what on earth to do! This was before the joy of google classroom and schools issuing lessons. We, the mothers were on our own. I still remember the franticness of my behaviour that day. Its as if I believed their entire educational future was on my shoulders and should I get it wrong their whole future would come crashing down. I subscribed to Twinkl and Carol Vordermann and every other possible app imaginable. We had Joe Wicks/Yoga for kids and even playtime and PE in the garden. It was not a pretty sight. I suddenly became shouty mum and caught myself in the mirror at the end of the day with my mascara rubbed all over my face from sheer exhaustion!
Do you remember having to wash all the food when it was delivered? Donning rubber gloves and a face mask incase somehow the packaging still held onto the virus. So many conflicting reports over whether this was possible, so wash away we did! If and when we did actually dare to venture to the local shop, the queues, the fear and most alarmingly to me the fact that no-one spoke to each other anymore! What about the walks? We live on a lovely country lane and I would dutifully take the children out each day for their dose of fresh air and exercise, but the fear if you so much as saw another person coming the other way! I actually saw a grown man leap into a hedge when he saw my overexcited 6 year old running towards him.
How were those first few days for you? Would love to hear in the comments below.
Further lockdown stories and my musings of motherhood to follow!
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