The end of summer (nearly)

 



Today marks what, for most of us, counts as the end of summer... The August bank holiday. Except this year, it feels like a bit of a swizz. We're 2/3 of the way through 2020, and for most if us, it's a year we'd rather not repeat.

Autumn officially starts (this year) on 22nd September. But with the imminent return to school over the next couple of weeks, it feels like summer is already over. 

This summer has been a bit of a let down, if I'm entirely honest. We nanaged to move house. But no one has seen it. Not really. All the excitement of finally moving to the house that works for us, gone. Because the COVID rules mean we can't have our friends and family around. My lg has shown noone (except for Gu) her new bedroom. And she really wants to. 

There was no Christening. My lg has yet to see the inside of her Church. Yet to meet the Vicar.

There was no holiday. We booked just after Christmas, and then cancelled it. Because we booked a holiday designed to make a 7yo feel like she wasn't being forgotten, but the regulations meant that the holiday company weren't able to privide the activities they had advertised. 

We've done day trips, and mini adventures. Tried to make the most of the place we live.

Not only does September signal the end of summer, it also signals the start of my return to work. The KIT days designed to make sure I'm not completely out of tbe loop when I return full time after Christmas.

My lg is struggling with limited social contact. Zoom can't replace the interaction craved and needed by a 7yo. She's lost interest in her activities because she feels distant from them, despite the humongous attempts by the leaders and instructors to keep the kids interested. 

School for her is both a welcome return to routine, and a scary prospect. She's not been near that many people in nearly 6 months. But she needs the interaction school, and her peers, will give her.

As for life in general, there is no normal. As the weather starts to turn, I am trying to prepare, mentally, for yet more months with no social interaction. Because you can't stand, outside, in the wind and the rain, with a baby in a buggy, just because you want a chat. 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Plus je vieillis ...

Image
One of my friends shared the Jamie Lee Curtis quote a while ago on FB, and, basically, it set my head thinking a lot. This year has been full of drama of various kinds, not least because of all the chaos caused by COVID.  As a result, this year has been hard.  Really hard.  Between juggling expectations, the constant moving goalposts, as well as general family life, this year has been one I don't ever want to repeat. I've learnt a lot about me though too.  And some of the things that I've learnt are that I am actually a lot tougher than I ever believed.  Yes, it's not always been an easy ride, and getting to the middle of December has been a roller coaster of epic proportions, but, generally, I have come out of it mentally tougher than I went in. I was struck by Jamie Lee Curtis' sentiments.  They pretty much sum up what I want out of life; to relax in my own home, surrounded by people who are supportive and that I know I can turn to when I need to, without...
Read more

When school feels a bit like the Hokey Kokey

It's been a while since I last wrote a blog post. Mainly because, as a family, we've spent most of our time together. In the house, juggling work, study, playing with a baby and home teaching a 7yo.  Like most families, that juggling act has taken a bit of time to get used to. But we've got there. With a bit of 'ooops' when you've got 3 TEAMS meetings overlapping 🙈 Now though, it seems that we are facing being forced to send our children back to school*. And, here in Wales at least, the threat of an extended school term, taking away our children's relaxation time because someone, somewhere, has decided that they are 'behind'. Behind what exactly? OK, we, as a society might have to concede that many of our children aren't currently keeping up with the target driven curriculum that has been constructed for them.  And yes, there will be a minority of children who really do need additional intervention that is realistically only possible in a school...
Read more

Lockdown Christmas

Image
  This year, getting to Christmas has been tough.  For someone who usually throws themselves at the festive season with gusto, this year has seemed a lot like a damp squib, for many reasons. This year, it's my eldest's Dad's turn for actual Christmas day.  And that means that she will miss most of her sister's first Christmas day.  OK, her sister probably won't remember.  But she will.  So we'd planned to do lots of the fun Christmas stuff before the day itself.  Except COVID had other ideas.  And our pre-Christmas out of the house activities were curtailed by the phone call from school telling us that my eldest needed to isolate for almost the entire pre-Christmas period.  So no walks to see the twinkly lights.  No trip to town to see the window displays.  No dash to the shop to buy the new star for the top of the tree. The final blow came when, a week ahead of schedule, Wales was plunged into lockdown-3 with only a few hours' warn...
Read more