Lockdown - The New Normal (2020)
I write this a few hours before Boris Johnson is about to update us on any potential easing of the lockdown. I’ve actually forgotten how many weeks into the lockdown we actually are. Is it 7 weeks? I know it feels like an eternity since the schools shut. This has become our new normal.
The last couple of weeks have included rain, birthdays, photography workshops, more barbecues, doorstep portraits and some pretty bad hangovers.
It actually rained. We have been blessed with some lovely sunshine in the last couple of months but my Hydrangeas definitely appreciated the teeny bit of rain we had in the last few weeks. I am very thankful lockdown hasn’t occurred in a dark, cold and wet November. Spring has always been my favourite month and despite these strange times, this is one of the the better ones.
Sunshine and the warm weather has meant many more barbecues. Basti still only ever eats the sausages, all other meat and accompaniments are lost on him! Each year we promise ourselves we’ll get a couple of loungers for the garden in the sale but alas we keep forgetting and so we continue to sit awkwardly on our wooden benches trying to sunbathe comfortably. Well I do anyway.
A friend asked if I would come and do a doorstep portrait for her and her family to not only mark lockdown and her friendship with her neighbours but also to mark her little girl’s first birthday. I’ll be honest, I was reluctant at first for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I wasn’t sure I could do the photos justice as I usually photograph close up with families and secondly, I haven’t really had the time believe it or not. Anyway, I agreed to do it and asked a few more local mums if they wanted some taken too and I really enjoyed it. I’m so glad I said yes. It was nice to photograph other people’s children for a change and loved poodling around locally on my bike with my camera in my rucksack.
As already mentioned my husband Noel has been furloughed so it has been lovely to see how much time he is spending with the boys. Due to working full time (and a minor cycling obsession), his time with them is usually in small segments at the weekend plus the daily morning pre-school rush. The boys are loving it. And he might not admit it but I think Noel will miss this once he goes back to work too.
The last few weeks have also seen Basti’s third birthday. Bless him, at least he’s too young to realise only mummy and daddy came to his birthday party. I’ll follow this blog up with another one of his birthday next week. We had a lovely day, even managed to sneak in pin the tail on the donkey, pass the parcel and a homemade dinosaur cake.
Last weekend I also got to hide away in our bedroom for a whole 8 hours to spend watching a photography summit that I signed up for - Phlock Thrive and Shine. It was great, not only was it some longed for me time but I also got to remind myself that I am still a professional photographer despite not having any proper shoots for a couple of months. Lots of ideas came out of it that I’m working on. Now I just need a bit more time to get them all done before Boris tells us we can go out again!
This afternoon we’ve got a big family zoom party with my cousins and uncles. Guaranteed that wouldn’t have happened had we not been in lockdown. Please let’s not forget all the positives that have come from this time.
I’ve never been a writer, I’ve always been visual or into numbers but I find writing these personal blogs very therapeutic and I feel I could write for hours. There are so many more things I could bore you all with but I’ll save that for next time :-)
Stay safe everyone x
