Same same but different. I cannot quite believe that the country has been on lockdown, at home as much as possible, for a full 9 weeks. Incredible.
This is half term week so it’s bitter sweet as everyday is the same as the previous. It’s partly the reason why I have not written a post since week 7. Obviously no home schooling is a bonus for everyone. The weather is glorious again, reaching the high twenties regularly.
We’ve had some (confusing) messages from the Government about a slight easing of lockdown restrictions, and so on Friday I took the kids to the park for a very tentative meetup with friends of theirs, at a distance. It was literally the first time since schools closed that I have talked to other parents, and that children have seend their friends faces in real life. The setting of the park made it slightly surreal, but also pleasant. I understand that transmission outdoors is greatly reduced, particularly on sunny and windy days.
It really has gotten to the point where the balance between being really careful and not going mad needs a little calibrating. So good for the children to see their friends, and laugh and play outside a little. Great for parents to chat a little with each other, without the agony of choppy video call connections.
So I, at least for now, we feel like their is some hope and the feeling that we can see the end of the absolute lockdown we’ve endured. People need to go back to work, businesses need to reopen carefully where they can. Hopefully the UK Government can now be trusted to act competently and efficiently to keep the outbreak levels low, isolate and lockdown and treat more effectively. The cost has already been too high.
I do not fear the virus and the situation quite as much now, although I am aware that seemingly healthy people my age have caught it and have died. But I can’t fixate on the bad news.
I’m trying to focus on how we can come out of this a little bit more aware of how fragile we can be, and how we need to start being prepared and making changes to how we interact and affect the rest of the planet.