As a mum with 3 kids who works part time, the current lockdown due to COVID-19 or as my friends and I like to refer to it as… ‘The Rona’…. there are certainly some things I am going to miss about lock down, and of course some things that I WILL NOT!
One of the first things I realized when we were thrown in lockdown was how quickly the diary became empty. I went from a full weekly diary, to completely nothing. To be honest I have been absolutely ok with that.
We went from swimming lessons, gym 3 times a week, netball coaching/training, viola lessons, OHSC 2 days, eye appointments for my youngest daughter, play dates, birthday parties and much more. Now the diary just has birthdays in them and when I’m expecting my period…. Exciting!
Full Diary
Working part time, 4 days out of my week need to run like clockwork. Some mornings I try and squeeze in hot pilates, so that means out of bed at 5.30 for a 6am class and back by 6.55am just in time to pass my husband who is out the door and off to work and not home again until about 6.30pm. I need to get all kids dressed, fed, lunches made, bags packed off to school, day care and be sitting at my desk by 9am. That might seem like a pretty easy task, but when you have a 3 year old who is currently a threenager, a middle child who is absolutely living up to her title of being the last to do everything, requiring me to ask her to do something at least 100 times, it’s safe to say by 7.50am I am screaming at everyone to get in the frickin car!! Hubby always helps when he can, when he makes kids lunches on those mornings, I want to squeal with delight!
Since lockdown and working from home, I have been able to roll out of bed at 5.45am and go downstairs and join in a ZOOM Pilates class from the playroom, winning! Then I can just walk straight into the kitchen, makes lunches, do some emails, get the kids fed, send some more emails, get ready and get the kids dressed and ready for the day. Then I get to sit in my office and jump in and out of work all day as I juggle mum life and work life. I am going to miss this. This slower pace, not worrying so much about getting dressed into something nice, just a nice top will do. Maybe a little bit of cover-up on but that’s it, brushing my hair, but not having to worry about straightening it. A simpler way of living really, maybe a better one? But it’s not all roses, is it….
On my workdays, home schooling and work is practically IMPOSSIBLE. I am not going to miss this! Trying to teach a preppie who is only just learning to read is a full time job in itself! I think we all know that teachers are definitely not paid enough! Then add a 3 year old who wants attention and likes to draw all over her sisters work and you have a tantrum waiting to happen. My 8 year old for the most part is pretty self sufficient so that has made life a little easier, keeping her on track on her newly purchased iPad is another story. We have been thrown into the world of personal screens earlier than we were hoping thanks to COVID-19. We had 3 iPad’s in our household, one of which was about 8 years old so effectively useless with the latest apps required for schoolwork. We needed to create an account for our 8 year old so she now has an email address and the ability to message her friends (insert anxiety levels peaking here). We are trying to navigate the world of her having access to her friends through chat/games/messaging and it’s something that you really need to be across. She went from having no contacts to a list of pretty much all the kids in her class and some from other classes. I am still not sure how I feel about it and I am constantly checking her messages to ensure the content is ok. I feel as though we were thrown into this before we were ready and we haven’t had the chance to educate her properly, and neither has her school. So that is one thing I am not going to miss.
On the weekends we have been able to have sleep ins (well, when the kids let us sleep past 6am, that is always welcomed) get exercise in, do the jobs around the house that you just never quite get to. The house has never looked cleaner and the garden is flourishing due to some extra love. The pace has slowed down so much that we are not in a rush. I think this is what I will miss the most. I am not running from one thing to the next every day, always in a rush, anxious because I don’t want to be late…. I get to take my time each day, the kids get more time to do all the tasks they need to complete, haven’t done your teeth yet? No worries, we don’t need to be in the car… Bags not packed?…. doesn’t matter, it doesn’t need to be… we are staying home.
After all this is over, I hope we find some type of new normal. I hope employers become more flexible with working from home, I think we passed the test.. it’s possible. I think we will commit to less each school term, slow down the pace. Go out less, stay home more. Enjoy those moments when we do go out and see friends, really cherish them. Because if I have learnt anything from this pandemic, it’s that I can live off less, thrive on a slower pace, survive being in self isolation with my husband and 3 kids and possibly love them even more.
