I could have written a number of blog posts in relation to how I’ve been feeling since Boris grounded us all. The thing is, we are all in a constant state of flux along with the ever changing news and restrictions. On some days I feel tortured by the shambles that is ‘home learning’ and doomed at the prospect of spending the foreseeable future incarcerated with my family. However there are other days when I feel lighter and liberated from the drudgery of boring routines like the school run, swimming lessons and a driving to a billion sports fixtures (fist punch). Life is simpler and this has it’s perks.

My children are also experiencing a roller coaster of emotions. One minute they are singing songs joyfully about school shutting and the next they are weeping about losing a game. I am dumfounded by all the images I have seen of kids and their parents with a house full of completed craft projects, enjoying the experience of home schooling. We have found it incredibly hard: The big kid spends all day online following classes, turning him into a square eyed monster by 4pm, whilst the little kid is reluctant to do anything. Unbeknownst to them, they actually miss school with it's routines and normality; it’s hard for them to have the rug literally pulled out from underneath them.

There have been plenty of suggestions that we use this time as an opportunity for personal growth. Learning the lute or taking up judo is not really an option for those of us with kids to wrangle, work to do and high anxiety to manage. I don’t think we should feel that we have to advance our life skills during an International Health Crisis but just somehow find a way to drag ourselves through it. If you managed to wash your hair and drink a hot cup of tea this week, you are winning in my book. ( If you want to run a marathon in your basement thats great too).

There isn’t a silver lining in this gigantic, billowy black cloud, but ultimately it will leave us with an enduring sense of gratitude for our freedom, friends and family. I am already looking forward to hugging EVERYONE; and meeting friends for coffee will feel like the biggest treat. So don’t worry if, like me, you feel fractured and afraid at the moment; we’re being primed for good times ahead.

Sending everyone lots and lots of love

Sophie