Last Updated on 13 May 2020 by Colette
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This was the week we all went a little bit crazy (including President Trump who suggested cleansing ourselves with an injection of Domestos was the way forward in life – he was clearly wrong!)
It has been a really long week, with the moments, days and weeks stretching out like chewing gum. Week five was very much the week where the novelty well and truly wore off in our house. Getting back to distance learning after two weeks off was always going to be hard going. Nobody really wanted to be bothered (me included) and motivating the kids to get their work done was a challenge.
Amy has had a really hard week – we already knew she was struggling thanks to her wobbly emotions – with lots of tears and frustration over seemingly insignificant things but she has started to display a new compulsive habit (you might remember this is something we’ve struggled with in the past). Whilst she’s only sucking her clothes, which isn’t anywhere near as damaging as her previous vices of hair pulling and skin picking, this still feels like a big deal and indicates just how hard she’s finding things right now. I think, at 6, whilst she’s a generally very articulate little girl, it’s actually quite difficult for her to identify and voice how she’s feeling and why.
On top of worrying about Bo, I’m not sleeping especially well. I’m going to bed quite late because of Poppy but then not being able to get to sleep or having awful dreams. As is often the case with my stress dreams, they are typically based in school even if that’s not what I’m worried about. I’ve had several dreams about people close to me being ill or dying (though not necessarily anything to do with the virus) and have also dreamt a couple of times about being sexually assaulted – which always sets me up for a lovely day.
The days have been fairly samey this week – school work in the morning, reading and playing in the afternoon with no screens till about 2ish. Dave has taken Amy to the park a couple of times to practice riding her bike while the other two have whizzed around doing laps and I’ve walked Poppy. I had been really worried about how we would socialise Poppy during Lockdown but thankfully she’s encountering plenty of dogs and people in the park and seems quite happy with this! Because the park is so much quieter than usual, we have been able to let her off the lead a bit to practice her recall too.
Dave was in the office on Monday but worked from home with us on Tuesday and Wednesday before going out on a visit on Thursday.
Wednesday was one of those “laugh or you’ll cry” days – and laugh we did. I think we were both on the verge of hysteria and spent most of the day in fits of giggles about he most ridiculous things. Thursday was a similar day – I hadn’t slept well and we ended up having quite late start so rather than pushing things, I decided to call a “Mental Health Day” and we sacked off doing any school work at all – concentrating on walking Poppy and relaxing. Even still it was a hard day and without Dave at home to laugh with, it felt a lot more stressful. I reached the end of the day feeling that I was going a bit insane and I was more than a bit envious of Dave’s drive to Birmingham just for the time on his own!
On Friday, I took advantage of Dave working from home and basically hid where I could – this meant going out in the car for the first time in five weeks; dropping some presents off for my godchildren and having a short, socially distanced chat with one of my favourite furry faces – it was so lovely to be able to stand and talk to him but I just cried when I got back into the car because it all felt so hard. Not being able to speak to the kids properly or give Will a hug when I left felt so painful. After lunch I laid on the lawn in the front garden soaking up the sunshine and reading my book while the kids watched TV – taking any moment for peace that I could get. Dave and I spent the evening drinking cocktails (I bought him a Mexican Elbow for his birthday and he invested in a new cocktail shaker last week as we’ve been enjoying the odd Quarantine Cocktail of an evening) and watched Gogglebox which made me laugh a lot – and also made me realise that everyone is feeling a little bit crazy right now!
The weekend has been very much focused on getting stuff done in the garden – Dave has been digging out a space for a patio area and I spent a good chunk of Saturday afternoon blowing enormous bubbles with the kids, it was thoroughly satisfying and a really lovely distraction.
I can’t say I’m feeling particularly enthusiastic about another week of distance learning – I’d honestly rather teach a class of thirty of other people’s children than my own three!
I bet your kids are doing plenty of school work compared to most x Mentsl health days are definitely essential, for all of us. Loads of what you say is familiar to me – one of my boys isnt sleeping well at all and keeps being upset for reasons he can’t explain.
Lockdown is going well here though, we know we are lucky that we have a garden and a big brother/3rd adult – plus boys who are big enough to entertain themselves thankfully.
Give one of the kids a camera on your next wall and let them take photos of things they see that are beautiful. There’s always plenty really x