Looking Forwards

 Every year I am terrified and dread the 6 weeks holidays but going forward I actually feel really lucky.

Why you ask?

I get to have mini lockdown every year without the awful home learning.

For me, the great thing about lockdown has been that everything has been simplified.

Finally, everyone has been on a equal playing field to me (no one could do things easily etc). I hope it will give everyone in the future a greater understanding of what things are like...

Normally I am panicking about the 6 week holidays and thinking poor me, what am I going to do! Not now, 6 weeks is nothing - I have got this.

"We have such little time with our children" a friend said at the start of lockdown "we won't get this time again." I didn't realise at the time that lockdown life would be just like my non lockdown life, so I do and I will get this time again! Yay!!

I was starting to feel really upset that everybody's life is going back to 'normal' and I get to watch - suddenly I am back to being alone on this playing field. However since realising that I get to have this time every holiday, albeit for a lot less actual time, I don't mind anywhere near as much.

I know some people hated lockdown life but you get used to it - I did…

I absolutely love having my children at home doing somewhat educational activities but on my terms. Of course I would rather not have any experience parenting whilst restricted, but I do.

I have to see the positives. Recently, that has been helping as many parents as possible through using my experience.

I threw myself into distributing resources I already had and coming up with new ones. Focusing on my blog and helping others parents, in a really selfish way, helped me. I am at my best if I am busy and I was definitely busy!!

For the most part we are/have been happy but we have had our meltdowns (I have occasionally been known to frequent the toilet to sob after I have asked a zillion times for something) and I have drunk copious amounts of Gin.

A huge positive from lockdown for me is hopefully more things will be available virtually. For example, meetings with teachers hopefully I won't actually have to go in unless it is very serious.

Another example of virtual things working in my favour is I did a parenting course over zoom, every Wednesday for 5 weeks.

Normally, it would have been open to me, but practically I wouldn't have been able to go. Before I became disabled, I loved taking courses like this and I wouldn't have thought twice about how many people would be on a course; how I could access it and whether there will be a suitable toilet. Yet these days, these are all the things that I worry about. It's just easier not to take part!

I was going to have big difficulties looking around secondary schools for my daughter, I still might. Despite really wanting to go, I won't get to go realistically unless it is virtual. I am therefore really hoping that they will have virtual tours of secondary schools.

Hopefully I'll be no different from everyone else (which is all I want). I don't like the idea of everyone else getting a 'real' tour and me having to be grateful for what I can get…so we'll see.

Back in March I posted a time table which we followed religiously and it really worked for us. Structure was key for us. Although everyone is different and I think we all deserve a huge pat on the back for just surviving.

Overall, I'm very impressed that we got through to September with minimal help (being disabled) and my husband having (suspected) Coronavirus back in April.

Yay us all - bring on future holiday's now.