The Isolation Diaries Day 16 – Worries

Back to Work – Day 15

The weekend did feel a little more relaxed, we put our worries aside and I let the kids just do whatever they wanted to. This did result in finding Boo still on her phone at 11pm in bed on Saturday night. I did say the no screens after 9pm rule was still in effect so she was sneaky in getting her phone into bed with her. I think she misses her friends a lot more than the others though.

Monday was not so good. I don’t want to go into too much detail but I think stress got to us a little more than usual. Graham has his own way of dealing with all of this. I know he’s struggling because he goes out a lot more than me, I’m used to staying in. So, he’s found a release, but he wanted to take it a bit further and I wasn’t happy about it which ended in a big falling out. We worked it out eventually though. We have to remember, it’s tough for all of us individually as well as together as a family.

I didn’t feel like working with the kids because I was upset, but in the end, I found getting some work done with the Little Man was a big distraction and helped a lot. Oh, he protested, he wanted to play Roblox all day, but we managed to drag him away and in the end he did a fair bit of work.

School Worries

It’s so difficult and I’m sure I’m not the only one with worries. Will my kids fall far behind in their school work? Will they catch up? Is it going to make a big impact on their lives? How hard is it going to be going back to school? So many more questions.

Everyone has their own approach, and I hate it when people criticize others. I have three very different children and I’m having to take a different approach with each of them.

My Three

Star is stressing, she will be in year 11 in September, exam year. She needs to keep up with her work if she wants to do any good in her exams. Her stress levels were through the roof before they shut the school and we had just managed to arrange a meeting to talk about it but it was too late. So now, she is completely torn as to whether to do the work and feel stressed again, or ignore it and hope it goes away! Yesterday I managed to get her to complete an art assignment. She loves art so that was something at least. I’m not going to force her to work and make her feel worse, but I am going to keep pushing her into doing whatever she can. Today she’s just asked if I have any lined paper, so that’s a good sign she wants to do some work.

Boo, is more interested in talking to her friends than doing any work. Apparently her friends aren’t working, so why should she? She’s the tween with an attitude. Her work is mostly online and the teachers are reading and marking everything submitted. She got a shout out in the virtual assembly last Friday for her work….so maybe she’s not gossiping as much as she’s making me believe?

The Little Man is younger and needs direction. He’ll do his maths work no problem, but when it comes to English, he doesn’t like writing things down. Get him into it somehow and his work is really good. I’ve read some of his past pieces and they are amazing. But again, there are pieces in his book with the comment from the teacher about him not trying very hard. It’s really hit and miss with him. I’m being sent info every day for him to complete, and at the moment I’m happy so long as he does about three quarters of it. We’ve not managed to complete it all.

Day 16

We had another shop delivered yesterday and I’m afraid I have to admit to panic buying. We normally have a big shop each week delivered and then Graham pops out almost every day for little things we need to stock up on. That’s not really something I want him doing now so I try to get as much as possible in the main shop. This week I even managed to get Easter Eggs for us all! (Don’t worry, they are stashed safely away out of sight.)

The freezers are full to brimming and so are the cupboards. We won’t go hungry for sure. And most of it is non perishable. The Perishables will be used up first and then we know we will have no waste. I think next week I’ll ease back on the frozen and tinned stuff and just hope the shops continue to fill up for when we fall low again. One thing I’ve been unable to get is pasta and I have a lot of pasta fans in the house. I know how to make fresh pasta, but it’s too time consuming when you are a family of seven. I might try the kids with gnocchi instead, that’s a bit easier.

Fear

There are so many things I really want to write about, rather than just the day to day stuff. But on the other hand I want to keep a diary too. Last time I talked about the Invisible War and how we are fighting something we can’t actually see or avoid…unless we stay away from others.

The past week I have seen a lot of fear. People are scared, it’s understandable. This virus can kill, and does kill. At first people were saying it was no worse than flu and that it was less deadly. But we have a vaccine for flu, we understand it a lot better and figures aside, it doesn’t matter. How many times have you seen the Country in lock down because of an outbreak of flu. We should never underestimate any other virus, but COVID-19 is proving to be a devastating one. People need to take it seriously and stay safe and keep others safe.

Some people are showing less fear and wishing to carry on as normal. This means meeting up with friends and family, going out to public places, shopping irresponsibly, even posting videos of themselves licking supermarket shelves….yuk!

Then there are others shaming people for going out, posting photos on social media of people on bus stops or groups of people out together. It’s all based on fear and we should be mindful of other people.

Fear can bring out the worst in people. I’ve heard of some awful stories. Don’t spread fear, but if you feel scared, ask for help. There are also some wonderful kind people out there. These are the people we need to get through this.

We may be apart, but we are never alone.

Finally, More Worries

I couldn’t leave this post without a mention of a lovely friend and her husband who are going through an incredibly tough time at the moment. It’s not COVID related but my heart goes out to them both this morning. You’ll get through this, I know you will. And once this damn virus has gone away I’m going to treat you, I promise. I just want to give you the biggest hugs.