How are we already in April? It feels like 2021 is flashing pas me at high speed and I need to try and slow things down or at least catch myself up. Either way, I am in great need of the Easter holidays at the end of this week to catch up with my never-ending to-do list and have some time much needed time away from work.
I wanted to write something about how life has been over recent weeks as I keep starting posts and then starting others. That is all well and good if I never actually get around to finishing them again.
March has been a good month. It saw the long-awaited return to school for my three youngest children. They all coped brilliantly through the school closures, each logging into their respective laptops every day and pretty much getting on with their school work independently.
But it definitely took its toll. My eldest teen started to really struggle with the lack of social contact and it has been lovely to see him come back to himself again over the last couple of weeks.
The younger teen found the return to school hard, especially as he is in Year 11 and there has been a lot of talk about exams, lack of exams, testing and more. He did a week of mock exams last week which he worked hard for and now has more tests at the end of May and that should be it for him. A long summer of hanging out with mates and too many hours on the Xbox await methinks.
Little miss A has coped best of all, in and out of school, I do worry that she has adapted a little too well to her a life of solitude. I can’t wait for the days to come when we can go out and meet friends again or have friends around to play, it has been far too long since we could do that.
Work has been busy for me as I was in school working in Covid School. It was a nice opportunity to work closely with students that you might not ordinarily get to know but it has been great welcoming all of the other students back into school. I was so impressed with how well the students have all adapted to life in school with masks, hand-sanitising and testing. They are resilient and amazing and let’s cross everything that that is the last time schools have to shut their doors because of Covid.
Back to school even heralded a big change for our gorgeous labrador Liberty. Up until Christmas, we used to leave her at home and she was taken out for a walk once a day by a dog-walker and my eldest son would take her out again later on. With my son changing his job followed by the dog walker sadly closing her business, we decided doggy day care was the best option for Liberty and it is safe to say that she loves it. She gets to roam a huge field with lots of other dogs every day and literally cannot wait to go in every morning. I wish the children were that enthusiastic about going to school!
As work has been busy, there hasn’t been much time for anything else in between chores and mealtimes. I have been reading though. I had never read Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy but had really enjoyed the two BBC1 series so far. My eldest son recommended another trilogy called the Book of Dust which starts with Lyra’s story as a baby in the first book and the second continues her story ten years after the end of The Amber Spyglass. The first book entitled La Belle Sauvage is just brilliant. I was obsessed with it and if you love Dark Materials, I really recommend it. I then read The Amber Spyglass to see how Lyra and Will’s story concludes. Again, just a brilliant book. Now I am reading the second book in the Book of Dust trilogy: The Secret Commonwealth and I am hooked.
I am trying to not watch too much TV but A and I often watch something together before bedtime and I have to admit that I have been watching The Circle on Channel 4. My husband usually walks out in utter disgust every time it’s on but I find the way the contestants interact with each other using only messages really fascinating. We are also watching season 7 of Brooklyn 99 which was a program I didn’t expect to like but it is easy to watch and very funny.
It’s good to hear that everyone is coping well and enjoying being back into routine. Like your Miss A, my daughter seemed to be enjoying life at home in solitude rather too much, but now she is saying she isn’t looking forward to the Easter holidays, so she is clearly back into the swing of things with school.
It’s lovely to read about Liberty and the doggy day care too.
I’m not surprised you need a break yourself, it must have been really full-on to be in school throughout. Enjoy the holidays!
Sarah Wood recently posted…Covid-19: ‘I never felt ill’