Who else didn’t realise it was mid-February already?
And news flash, apparently, it’s half term next week. Who knew?
My life seems to be framed by school days and timetables. ‘The grind’ as my teenage boys so lovingly refer to life right now.
They’re bored. I’m bored. We’re all bored!
Is it just me who has lost all sense of time during lockdown? Last Tuesday felt like it could’ve been a chilly day in November.
With nothing new to look forward to and no social dates in my diary, days and times are all over the place. The only comfort is knowing that I’m not alone. Apparently, we’re all feeling at sixes and sevens. Lockdown does that to you. (Trust me, I’ve Googled it.).
But I think I’ve now worked out why I’m finding lockdown so tiring. I’m doing what most parents have been doing since last March.
I’m rallying the troops and keeping everyone positive. I feel as though it’s my duty to keep the teens upbeat and share my positive vibes that life WILL be lived again.
As they struggle through the school days, keeping themselves motivated to see out their GCSEs and A-Levels, I’m working hard behind the scenes to be optimistic for the future. Festivals, holidays, nights out with friends… those times will come around again.
I’m just not sure when.
My natural state is one of positivity but even I’m finding it hard. If you’re feeling the same, may I suggest a daily news detox. Even my evening fix of Tom Bradby has had to go. I know, but a woman’s got to do what a woman’s got to do.
Despite all the (sometimes fake) positive cheer, a part of me feels that in time the kids may look back on lockdown with just a smidgen of fondness.
Take our family walks in the woods. Somehow, they have taken on more importance. We walk. We chat. There’s no moaning.
Some days it’s them dragging me away from my desk to go on a walk.
That would NEVER have happened before. It feels as though this time together is more cherished.
Teaching my kids lessons in gratitude and giving them an awareness for what they have has been one of my longstanding parenting aims.
Don’t get me wrong, they were great before lockdown.
But now I feel that with our lives stripped of the social and material elements, we’re left with what we have.
If they can still feel positive, still feel grateful, still keep motivated to move forward, well that’s a lesson they’ll take with them through the rest of their lives.
Now all they, and we, need is for lockdown to end so that life can be lived. Not long now folks.
Not long now.
Rachel is founder Gossip Girl Gang, a networking group for women in business in and around the borough
