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I remember thinking when lockdown ended that the country getting back on its feet would really depend very much on one word: confidence. To me, when I looked at the larger picture of the national economy and governance, and the smaller local scene, it all seemed to revolve around confidence. If we were confident in one area it would feed into the next and the wheels would keep turning. Right now, I am not confident about schools reopening and this bothers me significantly. I have a lot of questions, which I can’t seem to get answers to and the clock is ticking.
Home-schooling
I am also not confident of my ability to home-school. Fair play to the parents who willingly chose this option before COVID-19 ever happened, but it is not for me. Nelly was so wonderful doing her schoolwork at home, but the challenges in doing so for her and for me, and the skewed change in my role as mother made me uncomfortable. I hope it is not a long-term solution. Above anything else, Nelly misses her friends and classmates so much.
Pony playdates
I thanked my lucky stars that both girls are so in love with their ponies as we did playdates on pony-back, heading over to our friends’ farm once a week for a socially distanced hack. This was a very enjoyable way for everyone to enjoy each other’s company and stay (hopefully) safe.
Our friends' farm grows and sells raspberries and they have had their challenges in getting staff to pick the crop, relying on family members to help out. Their usual pickers decided not to travel from abroad this year. It is normally lambing or calving time when you see farmers so sleep deprived. It was frustrating watching them and unable to help or even offer help, but they got through the season and kept their customers supplied.
Pony camp
I stayed away from launching into playdates or enrolling the girls into any camps, with exception of Pony Club Pony Camp. My thinking was that it was easier for Nelly to socially distance outside in the fresh air on the back of her pensioner pony than it would be anywhere else. As part of the new regulations, a parent was required to stay with their child all day at pony camp. I really enjoyed this as I got to watch Nelly interacting with her friends, regularly being referenced to as chatterboxes. Making up for all that lost conversation I guess!
New normal
Going forward into this new normal, this changed world, I am conflicted in wanting the girls to go to school, mostly for their social outlook and wanting to protect them from this horrible virus. Being a typical Irish lass I have put my head in the sand for a while. In these last two weeks before schools, potentially, reopen, we are taking our holiday at home and treating everyday like a special day. We have been reading The Secret Garden and have reached the point where Mary, the lead character, is given a skipping rope. Nelly has fully latched on to this and now the skipping rope goes everywhere. We go somewhere different each day, the beach, Powerscourt Waterfall, a walk in the hills, and Nelly skips along the paths and dunes and Katy hoola-hoops and runs around. We lash on the suncream and the hand sanitiser, buy ice-creams, sneeze in our elbows and laugh loudly, at least confident we are having fun!
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