Things feel really quite strange at the moment.
We’re coming out of our 2 week firebreak lockdown here in Wales, as England are heading into their first full week of something similar.
Not that the lockdown ending here will change all that much for us to be honest.
We’ll be able to see Steve’s parents again now we’re back in an extended household with them, and swimming lessons for the children are starting up again this week, but other than that things won’t be all that different for us.
I think the fact that the schools stayed open this time round meant that life felt pretty much the same during this lockdown as it has been since September.
Last week we had a run of sunny, dry days so I walked to meet the children from school each day.
On Friday they both picked up sticks along the way which quickly became magical Harry Potter wands (and fun props for a few quick photos in the park!).
By the time we got home on Friday we were all worn out from the first week back at school.
The children also both had their flu vaccinations in the week which left Nerys in particular a little bit more worn out that usual with a lovely runny nose for a day or two.
They’re happy to be back in school though and it’s lovely to hear how much the school is doing to make sure they’re all doing well emotionally as well as academically.
They’ve been doing everything they can to mark special occasions with the children, so even though they can’t do things like harvest festival the way they normally would they still made it special and fun in different ways.
We didn’t really miss out on all that much this summer; we didn’t have a holiday booked that had to be cancelled or anything like that. But now we’re reaching the time of year where we have a few things we’d normally do that can’t go ahead this year.
Bonfire night for example.
We would normally walk down to the big fireworks display at St Helens, but obviously that was cancelled this year.
I thought the children might be upset about missing it, but they were brilliant about it. Steve took Nerys out in our carpark for a bit to spot all the random fireworks that were being set off in people’s back gardens, while Rhys did a fun zoom session with his cub pack.
Then we went out to join the others and spent a chilly 30 minutes spinning in all directions to catch where different fireworks were coming from.
It was so simple, so different from what we would normally do, but somehow still so special.
Did you do anything to celebrate bonfire night? How different was it for you this year than other years?
Even I, an adult, will become Hermione Granger with a stick in my hand… LOVELY SHOTS!
We just lit the chimnea in the garden and ate hotdogs for bonfire night. Lots of traditions this year have been done differently and changed. Here’s hoping we can all make up for it, in style next year! #livingarrows
I wish we could have an extended household in England, it would make such a difference to our wellbeing. I love the Harry Potter shots x
Lockdown here hasn’t changed much for us either, we have never really gone out much or seen many people since the last lockdown. And as schools have stayed open our weekly routine is much the same x