Looking back over the last 10 weeks is, in all honesty, a bit of a blur. Days seem to have drifted into weeks and weeks into months. It is almost unbelievable that we have now entered June. It is hard to believe that we were wearing winter coats when all this started as it seems that the sun has shined almost every day. The beautiful weather has certainly, for me at least, encouraged me to go outside, given my children incentive to go out and play, and given us another place to visit, ‘Costa del back garden’.
As full-time working parents’, we relied heavily on my own mum for support with childcare. As lockdown approached it became clear my mum was in the vulnerable category and so for the first time since my daughter was born she would not be able to help. As lockdown was announced, as lawyers, myself and my colleagues had to adapt very quickly to an ever-changing situation dealing with the court system and reassuring our clients that we would continue to support them and continue to be able to meet their needs. The pressure, like for many, was coming from all angles.
I have read enviously of beer garden projects, new talents being discovered and new hobbies being started. For me life in lockdown is even busier than life pre-covid, which I did not think was possible! The countless meals and clearing up seem endless, the home schooling (well I don’t think anyone wants to talk about that), the spinning plates just seem to go ever faster. However, there are many positives from this crisis. I have enjoyed the lack of rush in the mornings, the early morning or evening bike rides with my family, and certainly the cold glass of rosé in the sunshine having clocked off.
The one quote I have seen on social media that resonated with me is ‘We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat’. As a department we initially had daily video meetings specifically in order to support each other, despite us all being extremely busy we all took the time to spend that half hour or so just chatting through daily struggles. Our HR manager was always on the end of the phone talking through any difficulties we had, another great source of support. Our IT team were able to answer our queries and get us back online if any problems did come up despite the enormous pressure they themselves were under suddenly dealing with the whole firm working from home. I feel very lucky that I had support around me professionally to get me through those initial weeks. Personally, I won’t be taking up playing an instrument anytime soon, but I have managed to make a hanging basket and some sour dough (after a few attempts at least). I do worry like most, as to what the future holds, but I am taking every day as it comes and trying to embrace the positives of this crisis whilst battling through the difficult days of spinning all those plates.
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