Lockdown Mark 2!

Are we half way through lockdown mark two now, I can’t remember? Yes, I think in a couple of days we will be – or, half way as we may have initially thought? Will the government extend? I expect they might have to!

It didn’t feel the same this time to me. More shops are open, we have fewer rules and everything felt pretty much as it already had done as far as my family were concerned. We were still mostly social distancing and trying to be careful and the new lockdown rules for the second bite at the cherry didn’t feel too dissimilar from what we were already doing. Less opportunities to meet up with friends (as a family of 5 we were pretty limited anyway) and of course no shopping for non essentials or having our hair done (I rarely do that to be fair) but aside from that it all felt rather familiar.

So not much had changed for us in particular, in fact, Raffie started nursery and if anything was doing more. Which was good because he’d have missed Gymboree and his story time club. As we were also allowed to meet up with one other adult and finally, FINALLY, children (well, pre-schoolers at least) were not included in the numbers we even got to go scooting for exercise with his little friends.

It just didn’t feel that much of a hardship and for that we were all very grateful. School and work was carrying on of course so we were getting on with it. And then the numbers began to rise. And rise. AND RISE! I was actually starting to become a little more concerned again where I had begun to relax to a certain degree and then bam… 3rd week of nursery was about to begin and we were delivered the news that Raffie had, on at least one of the four occasions he’d been to a session, been in contact with a confirmed COVID19 case. And so… The fun really begun!

We were on our traditional lockdown walk around the field. Something that we hadn’t done for a few months as a family and we’d missed it but it wasn’t what it used to be either. The rain started hammering when we were half way around, the previously harvest abundant field was now a bog and within minutes Jimmy had lost a boot. Then as he scrambled to retrieve it he lost a sock. Jonny had run on ahead to help Florence on her bike as she was sinking and Raffie decided to sit down in the giant mud slide. We were still having a lovely time all together but it wasn’t quite the sunshine walk of lockdown mark 1 and though we were soaking up the fresh air we’d been looking forward to getting home and getting warm when my phone pinged with the news!

Well, I thought, we’d better enjoy it as family walks would be out of the question for a fortnight because Raffie has to isolate for 14 days. Obviously this is a bit of a struggle with two older ones and without being able to speak to anyone at school to make sure it was ok for Jimmy to come and go without an adult I had to take Raffie with me on the first morning (it’s ok, I checked with Norfolk County Council who said I literally couldn’t do anything else so I am absolved – however, if I weren’t then in the words of Cummings I had to do what was best for my family and if it was good enough for him then…) and then had to agree with the school secretary that Florence could take charge of the pair of them and walk home without me. Not that great but what can you do?

Raffie is fine, absolutely no symptoms and it will be 7 days since he last had contact tomorrow so I’m not terribly concerned but boy it brings the fact we are actually in strange times and it’s NOT normal to the forefront of your mind. It also does baffle me that we are to carry on as normal and it’s only him who needs to isolate.

Obviously I cannot carry on as normal as I can’t leave him with anyone to be carrying on with anything and my midwife appointments and flu jab had to be cancelled which is less than ideal on many levels but again, not much we can do about it all. The children and Jonny are each in separate bubbles of 30+ meaning they could, if their brother does have it and if he has passed it to them but we don’t know yet, be passing it on to at least 100 people. Goodness knows how long that little scenario will keep perpetuating with this rule but as it stands you can’t take time off school or work unless you have symptoms or test positive yourself or live with someone who has. And Raffie, though seeming fine, could of course be asymptomatic… Oh what a pickle eh! A pickle with bonkers rules, now where does that sound familiar from?!

Anyway… Here we are in the midst of lockdown mark 2 and not exactly loving it like we were the first time but not hating it either. I can think of worse people I know (God way worse) that I’d have to isolate with than Raffie – he’s pretty awesome and we’re having fun with trains and crayons and a LOT of TV. Gotta do what you gotta do right?!

And there’s been good news of course, we’ve come up Trumps by losing one in the US, Cummings has packed his box of self respect and left Downing Street (shame he didn’t take Bojo with him) and let’s never take for granted that McDonalds is still open this time. Oh… And there’s a vaccine which sounds very promising indeed, in fact, if the reports I’ve read this morning are true, there’s actually TWO that look set to be available by spring. Here’s hoping and, though scientist I am not, I hope the think tanks take a similar view to my mentality on who should get it first! 16 – 35 year olds in my opinion… The super spreaders, let’s get them immune and protect the elderly by proxy to begin with. I mean I could be way off the mark but it’s worth thinking about I reckon!