Friday Five: 08/05/20

In these (semi-regular) posts, I share five things.

Loves, hates, ideas I’m pondering, places I’m supporting, whatever.

This week is quarantine focused, since we’re in lockdown due to COVID19. Stay safe, guys!

Here we go:

THE RETURN TO SCHOOL 

I talked last week about the decision to let my daughter return to school one day a week. Yesterday was her first day back, and it’s made a huge difference.

All week, she knew she had a day at school to look forward to, and that seemed to boost her happiness a lot! She had a great day at school and made a new friend. Hardly any children are at school so it’s not normal classrooms, which gave her a chance to play with a boy she wouldn’t normally.

We’re hugely relieved by this because we did question whether we were doing the right thing. But it’s given her the slice of normality she needed, and that’s made her feel more secure.

THE NEW HOOVER

The new hoover arrived yesterday (it’s this one).

We’ve been making do with a Dyson that breaks regularly for way too long. We keep taking it in to the repair shop, and it limps along for a few more weeks, but using the new hoover made it obvious right away just how weak the old one is.

Kind of a handy metaphor for a lot of things really. How we can all get used to something sub-par and forget how good it could be. Like when I’m eating a lot of junk food and not drinking water, I get used to feeling sluggish… until I drink my water and realise how much better I could feel.

SLEEP HABITS

I’ve been working a few evenings this week, right up until my 10pm bedtime. Then I go to bed, but I’m too wide awake to sleep right away. So I’ve been awake until around midnight (unheard of for me!).

And did I mention my daughter has decided that 4.30am is the new wake up time?

Clearly this isn’t sustainable. I can manage a 4.30am wake up (if I have to) when I’m asleep for 10pm, but getting to sleep later makes that early wake up really, really rough.

Hubby and I are basically giving each other lie ins until maybe 7am, so I’m going to be a bit more strategic about which evenings I spend working. The evenings make sense right now for deep, focused work. I’m the only one in the office (and probably will be until the end of June), which means I’m answering every phone call that comes in. It’s great that the phone is ringing! I’m not complaining about that! But it does mean that the day time isn’t the best chance to do focused work right now.

RELAXATION OF LOCKDOWN?

So apparently some lockdown measures might be relaxed as early as Monday here in England.

From a selfish point of view, I’d welcome those steps. I’ve adjusted pretty well to the lockdown changes, but my daughter would really be helped by any sense of normality, whether that’s being able to go off into the forests (they’re closed right now), being allowed to make “social bubbles” with family so we can see each other, etc.

I do think that normal life is probably a long way off, but if we can start inching towards it, that would be something.

COVID19 SURVIVAL STRATEGY

This week has been better.

It really is a rollercoaster that changes day by day or week by week.

The one school day has been a huge help. Emotions have been more stable, and we’ve had some lovely time playing on the trampoline together and things. I’ve been in the hot tub too. I never used to go in the hot tub, but during lockdown I’ve decided that whenever my daughter goes in there, I’ll go in too. She squeals with delight when I get into my swimming costume. I think those times will be some of the memories I treasure from this period.

I hope you’re staying safe and staying sane!