Pandemic Days

Pandemic days = playground days. So many playgrounds..

I'm sitting here trying to make myself write something about Covid-19 and what it was like for our family. For the kids, later, if they're interested. And if they don't remember it (lucky them). Stella won't of course, but Cal might recall homeschool days, cancelled holidays, weeks of not doing anything but being at home and playing in the street. I wonder what will linger.

Here's my list of good and bad from the past 6 weeks. Lists are easier when you're making yourself do something.

The good
- Not rushing to school everyday. We still get up at roughly the same time. But 8.19 is a completely different minute now that no-one has to make Cal put his shoes on anymore.
- Watching Stella going about her business. Cooking, cleaning, washing, reading, gardening, ball kicking, bike riding, snacking, snacking, snacking. She's a busy woman.
- Working less. It took a pandemic to make us slow down a bit.
- Exercising. Both David and I have our routines of running, yoga and home workouts that we enjoy, and that are our only real escape from the house.
- Cal's enjoying a new stage of freedom. He has his own keys and can scoot to the playground at the end of the street. He has picnics with Natalee from downstairs on the roof of a local parking garage.
- David sleep trained Stella. Finally. With no crying or drama in just 7 nights. She now sleeps 7.30pm – 7.15am every night. Amen.
- Science Saturdays with Mum. There have been MnM rainbows, carbon dioxide fire extinguishers and an unfortunate experiment with a cup of wee.
-The weather. 2020 spring has been bright, dry and a real consolation.

The bad
- Not knowing how long this will last. We now know school will go back in 3 weeks, but no one can say when life will be back to normal, if ever.
 - Cancelled trips. Trips are how I cope. The dreaming, planning, and anticipation of warmer places, lush tropical gardens, watching my kids in airports, pools and new situations is my fuel.
- Cal has struggled with the school work. Facetime-Oma has been an incredible help (couldn't have done it without her) and he's even attended homework club at school a couple days a week, but it's not been easy for him. He's a pack wolf. He needs the buzz of group momentum.
- Missing friends and family, especially Oma and Opa. And Mum, Dad and Alex who we were meant to see this month in Sydney.

All in all, we've been incredibly lucky. We've managed to juggle kids and work, no-one has been sick (not even a cold thanks to super-hygiene and no daycare), and no one has killed anyone yet. The worst of it is just the blehs, the mehs, the I'm boreds, and is-it-over-yets that linger.