With “normality” allegedly on the horizon, I have been thinking about what we are going to be doing once our freedom arrives. It seems a lifetime ago since things were as they were, and in a lot of ways, I think what I see as normal has changed
Family time
One of the massive bonuses for me of these two/three (how many is it?!) lockdowns is that I have been able to spend so much time with the family. I would have never been able to afford so much time with the boys if I wasn’t working from home so much and my job isn’t one that can be done remotely in a “normal” life. I’ve been mad busy with work, but it is the commuting and breaks where I have been able to just have a chat or a play with them - it’s been great.
The other thing has been the fact we have been somewhat isolated from other people. I think we were really guilty before Covid of making too many plans. With the restrictions, we simply have had each other and we’ve got on just fine. There have of course been a few battles, and the war of the siblings continues, but having just each other has been way more manageable than we thought it would have been.
I’m going to miss how much time we have had, it has really had a positive effect on our family dynamic.
Doing things
Restrictions have somewhat quelled the variety of activities you can do with kids and it has been hard for us and more importantly them. You know things are bad when your one-year-old thinks an old horse in a muddy field is literally the most amazing thing in the world!
I can’t wait for zoos and parks and museums to reopen, just so we can do some things and give the youngest one some experiences. It has been a weird introduction to the world for him.
With that said, we have got so good at making something of nothing. It’s been a time of innovation when it comes to activities and I really hope we don’t lose that once things start to reopen.
Money
In a lot of ways, being locked down has done my wallet some good. In other ways, it hasn’t. My online shopping habits are both sporadic and in a lot of cases wasteful, because I’m drawn in by mediocre advertising! I’m a bit traditional in that I like seeing stuff before I buy it and shops reopening is going to be mint. I can see why Amazon’s profits have skyrocketed this year.
Having not gone on holiday or had the opportunity to do things as much, a lot of people will have some spare cash, but the pandemic has really hit those who are self-employed or have been furloughed...or worse, lost their jobs. It’s going to be a tough time for a lot of people as things get back to normal and we need to look out for each other.
Holidays
The prospect of a holiday is both exciting and worrying at the same time. Yes, I want to be on a beach, no I don’t want to be on a plane. My wanderlust is somewhat suppressed by the worry of things that were not even on my radar just over a year ago. This pandemic is shifting in different ways in different places and I hope the world might go back to some level of normality with regard to travel, but who knows?
Was life great when things were normal?
I think what I have realised is that I miss a lot of things, but I also don’t miss other things. When life was normal, I was a worse parent, I was stressed and more tired and working far too much. I don’t want life to go back to normal completely, because life was actually quite crazy. I have learnt a lot during this pandemic about how to be a really good parent and how to prioritise things...so in some ways, life isn’t ever going to be “normal” again - or hopefully not, it’ll be better.
