I think I need to write about something else soon, as I feel like all I really write about is lockdown at the moment! However, this is our life at the moment. This time, I’ve been tagged by Whimsical Mumblings to write about all the silver linings of lockdown life. I can’t even think of a word awful enough to describe how horrendous this virus is; the loss of life, the illness, the anxiety and the stress on our NHS and keyworkers. However, there is plenty to celebrate too. Whilst we need to remember the severity of the situation and not become complacent, it is important to also shift our focus to these positive things.
Time with family
Time seems to unfold differently in lockdown. I don’t exactly how to explain what I mean, but I guess it’s down to the lack of rushing to workplaces and school. Without trying to get places quickly, things are so much more relaxed and you can savour every second. It is amazing having more time with Autumn, as I’ve been furloughed. I haven’t had this much time with her since I was on maternity leave (which ended two weeks after her 1st Birthday).
Yes, it isn’t always great. There are times I wish nursery was open because she can be so full on and disobedient at times. I get tired and she gives me headaches for days in a row sometimes. However, generally, I’m just so pleased to be with her all the time again. This was what I’d always wanted really, to be with her 24/7 and homeschool her, but bills need to be paid and so I had to work.
My husband, Dave, is working from home. I think we’ve only had two arguments (nothing major) in the space of 7 weeks. I thought we’d be irritating each other a lot more as we’re not used to this amount of time together. However, it’s been lovely having him around all the time too.
Catching up
There are always things we’re meaning to do that get put off and put off and put off. I’ve finally had the time to get round to some of these tasks. There was so much junk in my room that I’ve had the chance to sort out. It’s felt really good that I’ve managed to accomplish these things. Being able to catch up on these thing has been so good for my mental health too. It’s amazing the difference that just shifting some clutter can make to your mind.
Creativity
It’s been fantastic to spend time on creative endeavours. Normally, my creativity largely gets pushed to the side. I’ve been writing, colouring in, making things with Autumn and sewing. The latter has been helpful to the community too, as I’ve been sewing PPE (plastic gowns with long sleeves) for our local hospital who have a shortage.
I’ve also been able to express myself more too, dying my hair pink again. I’ve always loved unnatural hair colours and finally got to dye my hair pink when I was on maternity leave. Having it made me feel so much more ‘me’ than any other hair colour I’ve had. My husband dyed it pink again for me. I’d like to experiment with some other colours too. Who knows when I’ll get the chance to do this again as I’m 99% sure that unnatural hair colours aren’t allowed at my workplace.
Perspective
Gratitude
Lockdown and the Covid-19 pandemic has really helped to put into perspective what’s important. Did all those things I stressed about before really matter? It’s also made us more thankful for the little things in life. Going for a walk and being outdoors feels so good. I’m more grateful than ever for having a garden. We’ve spent lots of time outdoors in the sunshine and have been doing lots of gardening.
It’s been helping Autumn to learn about where food comes from and has been relaxing for me. This is the first year she’s been able to have a bigger role in helping me with the garden, which has been wonderful, especially as we’ve had no time constraints!
We’re more thankful for things that now feel almost like a luxury after the empty shelves from people’s panic buying at the beginning of lockdown and just before it was implemented. Eggs, bread and pasta were not things we ever had to worry about being able to obtain before.
Community
When you’re out and about, people generally seem more friendly. It feels like communities are being brought more together again. People are generally more appreciative of our amazing NHS and people in keyworker roles too. Our teachers and school staff are still preparing and sending work to keep our children educated and looking after key worker’s children in the classroom. Our warehouses, HGV drivers and shop workers are often looked down on, but they’re finally getting the recognition they rightfully deserve for keeping us all fed. The postal staff are keeping us in touch with our families, making sure we receive essentials ordered online and things to keep us entertained, too.
Those are just a handful of our amazing keyworkers and I hope I see far less people looking down on such roles in the future. These are the people that really keep our country going. Not Poncey McPonce Face in his Savile Row suit, driving one of his many Ferraris, but Carly, the care worker.
I think coronavirus and the lockdown will continue to change our perspectives too. Hugs with family members and friends will never be taken for granted again. I wish I’d held those pre-lockdown hugs for longer, but of course I didn’t know they were the last hugs for a while.
Nature
It has been amazing to see nature thriving in the lockdown. Just think how many people are working from home now who were previously always told they couldn’t. Just those people alone must be making such a difference to the amount of pollution in the air. It’s wonderful to see animals coming into towns too, exploring areas they haven’t been able to before. I really hope some lessons are learnt after ‘all this’, many of them regarding nature. If we could somehow adopt a gentler way of life, we could walk and cycle more, instead of having to jump into cars to get places quickly all the time.
Thank you to Twin Mummy and Daddy for starting this tag!
I am tagging the following bloggers to take part and share their lockdown silver linings:
Kate on Thin Ice
Champagne and Petals
Rice cakes and Raisins
Yeah Lifestyle
My Dreamality