Lockdown life : to cope or not to cope

In February , I packed my bags and took an international trip of a lifetime with my best friend. I returned home with memoirs and a brain full of content for my blog. Two weeks later, on my birthday , the first corona virus patient was confirmed in our country. Fast forward to three weeks after that and we found ourselves in unfamiliar waters, confined to our homes without being permitted to leave.

The first few weeks for me were amazing, I loved having the children around me and we had such fun doing activities together. We played games, watched movies and we cooked and baked…a lot! It was really enjoyable but then other responsibilities began to creep in. I had to find a way to balance working from home, teaching the kids, cooking and cleaning while trying to remain sane. It was a recipe for disaster and sooner rather than later , I cracked.

Everything became too much for me, the schoolwork was madness, three different grades in one classroom, my students struggling to take me seriously as a teacher but also needing me more as mother during this overwhelming time. The cooking was fun and therapeutic for me but so was the eating. I sought comfort from mindless snacking especially when I couldn’t find ways to help explain school exercises to my daughters. I found myself getting snappy with them and I didn’t enjoy it.

I needed to make some changes to make things better for everyone in our home. We are now on week five and I am started to settle into this new way of life of ours. I have made adjustments and I am feeling happier with myself currently.

I am sharing the few adjustments that I have made that have worked for me. I accomplish more in my day while still taking care of myself and my mental well being.

Aara (10) and Zehna (8) have become more responsible for their schoolwork. They wake up in the morning, help themselves to breakfast, and get started with what needs to be done.

Yuhna(6) is still asleep or lazing in bed next to me. During this time, I read or start making lists of what needs to be done for the day. It may sound lazy by me being in my room but I have proven to be more productive this way. Everyone is quiet and the older children come to me if they need any help with anything. Yuhna wakes up around ten in the morning, by then most of my emails are dealt with and I have done a decent amount of box ticking for the day, I am ready to focus my attention on her. We go downstairs for breakfast and then return to my room for her to read to me and begin her work.

I have discovered that by confining myself to my room that I snack less. I have also started keeping a food diary. This lockdown has been unkind to my waistline and all my clothes do not fit as they should. I love exercise but I don’t associate working out with being at home. That needed to change to. We parked the cars out of the garage and we used the empty space to exercise in, nothing too hectic, the girls join me as well at times.

I set out lunch at about one in the afternoon, and after the children are fed and content , they are rewarded with an hour of television time. In that hour, they know not disturb me, it is my quiet time. I put on my fitbit and earphones and walk in the garage for an hour. At first , this was difficult but doing this repeatedly, I find it to be very tranquil. I get lost in the music playing through my earphones.

Another concerted edition that I have included in our day is that we read together for an hour. In the same room but silently. I have also rummaged through some of my old novels and I have made a list of books that I want to reread. I usually sleep late so I read into the early hours of the morning and I am loving it.

My phone is not with me for most of the day. I have limited screen time and mindless scrolling and I can see the benefits of that.

Keeping hydrated. This is something that I have been seriously slacking with. In the last week that has also changed. My daughters and I make a point of getting those 8 glasses of water in a day.

There is nothing magical about this post, it is just my way of surviving currently that I decided to share with you should you be feeling like me. It is an uncertain time for us all but also we will never get these moments. to have the children at home with me all day is such a blessing and this is a huge time in their childhood that they will look back when they are older. We are actively making history just by being part of this time. I don’t want my children to remember me constantly angry and upset with them. I want my home to feel lived in. I want them to be able to replay the laughter of these days in their minds. This is the time that three sisters become even better friends and the unity and bond of their sisterhood is strengthened beyond measure.