Letters From Lockdown - It's All Change, Or Is It?

Week eight and we have seen the announcement of change from ‘stay home‘ to ‘stay alert’. Naturally everyone has an opinion yet the common link is one heck of a lot of confusion.

Are we still in lockdown? I am not quite so sure. Are the children returning to school in three weeks time? Or the youngest of children that is?

Positive

Nevertheless I have actually felt weirdly positive this week. It seems like this emotional rollercoaster has no rhyme or reason for the feelings we feel or the timings of such. You just have to take what you can when you can and ride it out.

The announcement that school could open for Roma in less than 3 weeks had the potential to have put a spin on things. Aswell as the anxiety and anticipation as the lockdown eases. But you see for us it is business as usual.

I won’t be sending Roma into school (no judgement that’s just what we have decided is right for our family) and so as far as they are aware there really has been no change. Perhaps another good reason to stay in our little bubble.

Whilst I know so many people have struggled mentally this week, which I felt acutely last week, I am just taking the positives when I can. For now that feels ok because there is no uncertainty for us right now and just more of the same of that new normal I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.

I’ve realised this is because I now feel less like there is a stretch of unknown ahead of me and more like this bubble has an expiration date. Turns out I am not ready for that to happen, as hard as some days are. That it is somewhat threatened and actually it makes me want to hold onto it more. It’s scary and exciting (mind fuddle much) to see any kind of normal resume. I am going to try and make the most of this crazy time and shield where I can all of us and feel privileged that we can do that. I have lowered my standards and expectations and so a good day mostly consists of no-one having a huge meltdown…and….nope, that’s it. Happiness above anything else.

It seems inconceivable that it’s been 8 weeks. Whilst I don’t remember what life looked or felt like before. Like being institutionalised can take hold pretty quickly. It also feels like it’s gone in a flash. I don’t know maybe that’s the still very long to do list of house jobs that we haven’t gotten around to, films we haven’t watched, crafts we haven’t mastered and books left unread.

Mother Nature

Eva has struggled a little expressing annoyance at ‘these four walls’ and I get that. A change of scenery would be nice wouldn’t it? But we are happy and healthy and just keep plodding, in the garden, at home and a walk here and there. By here and there I of course mean every, single, day. The sanity brought by even the thought of a walk per day is everything right now despite it meaning a quite substantial pain flare up for me.

We have thanked Mother Nature for the sunshine. We’ve bird watched in the garden. The girls even dressed in ‘camouflage’ for the event. And took it one step further painting a miniature picnic bench the girls had for a bird feeder which is super cute! Walked amongst the Cows Parsley. Doing the instagram cliche thing of bringing it home to cover the house with vases of the beautiful delicate floral sight and scent only to discover the blinking stuff sheds everywhere and is to be appreciated outside only from now on!

Twitchers!

Followed by baking of course. Not a week goes by without baking. This time the most delicious new find of Brookies (later found to be names Chocolate Crinkle Cookies in America and not in fact ‘invented’ by the person I saw them on Instagram. Social media is a trick people!!)

Anyway we have made them twice since, shared the recipe with friends and they are the most beautiful moreish and full of sugar goodness you could ever wish to eat! If only there was smell-o-vision for my Sister on FaceTime!

Art Lesson

When we weren’t baking (or eating) Brookies we went on a virtual tour of Art Museums all over the world. It was surprisingly successful with the girls whom unsurprisingly showed very different artistic tastes. They then spent days painting chosen artists works and making up their own. We even purchased some acrylic paint and cannot wait to get stuck into that. I might have to join there, you know, supervision and all that.

With all the daily walks we have also mixed it up with evening strolls which have been beautiful, and some much needed solo time with each of the children when Eddy gets home too. The bickering right now is off the scale! You know just in case this is all sounding a little too idyllic. Here for the reality too. Yet the one walk just Roma and I she spent the entire time picking ALL the wild flowers for Eva. Go figure.

In amongst the positive week however we’ve had my car battery die, a call to the RAC and £150 later it’s back up and running. No longer will I ignore the advice just to start it every now and again..wait (*tries to think the last time the car was started), nope that’s already fallen by the wayside!

A Weird Story

AND, the strangest thing happened. Another possible derailment but thankfully one we were able to take with humour, laughing at the randomness of life sometimes. If you follow me on Instagram you will have no doubt have seen the ridiculous story but just in case, and for future me reading…

I was lying in bed when I heard a noise and noticed the security light at the front was on. This freaked my over active imagination out of course but it was something of nothing and I was soon fast asleep. Fast forward three hours and whilst not related to my own previous paranoia there was in fact big massive bangs not unlike gun shot (although no I have never actually heard gun shots so maybe it is nothing like it at all!) right outside my house.

Eddy jumps out of bed, throws back the curtains (therefore so do I) to be faced with a barricade of wheelie bins like a makeshift cordon and police car staring directly – at our house!

Before I could wonder what was going on and steady my racing heart something ran with a huge clatter from the side of our house toward the waiting police and people…

A COW

Yep, a black cow was running the streets, having no problems hurtling through the bin barrier onlookers and officers had made and making its way down another street.

We opened the window as a police officer approached and simply said “sorry it’s an escaped cow from a nearby field ” details I will have to be honest were pretty evident by now “We’ve been chasing it around for ages. I’m afraid it’s done a bit of damage there, looks like its taken your drain pipe down.” To which he walks off to further carry on his pursuit of a rogue cow.

1am. Could I sleep? Nope.

My heart was racing, adrenalin coursing through my whole body and a kind of humorous disbelief that this had happened…and to our house out of everybody. Make no mistake we live in a lovely place but not in the middle of a field where there isn’t 100 other houses it could have chosen to find solace next to. And by solace I mean ravage whilst unsurprisingly running from people chasing it. Yes a cow is going to do that!

The next day I, very tiredly, went to survey the damage which unfortunately was much more than first thought. It had clearly been running across the drive past the cars as we found chunks of fur (is that what you call it on cows!?) on our brickwork, blood on the garage door and scratches to the front of my car.

After a few phone calls apparently it’s a civil and not police matter so that’s a bit of a pain to add to the list of things to do and they cannot tell us which farmer it is. Although judging by the police tape tied to a gate and a tree we see on our daily walks I I can hazard a guess, I even came face to face with the cow in question. Actually a calf (a big one though) with bits of fur missing. So quotes for the guttering that you can’t just buy anywhere (sods law) and insurance calls are to come.

But hey, a lockdown tale to tell isn’t it!?

I will spare you the photos of that one instead sharing pretty ones (can you tell it’s my only create outlet right now?) and a life lesson that even lockdown can have it’s moments. I don’t think we will forget that one in a hurry.