DEEPENING CONNECTION THROUGH COVID LEVEL FOUR LOCKDOWN
What follows is the teachers reflections during Covid_19 and some of the parents responses to the sharing of these reflections.
These are reflections that are about sharing vulnerability and deepening connections. As Julie states “[this communication] with families has added another layer of richness and connection. Isn’t it ironic that isolation and separation has actually helped bring us closer”.
JOANNE BEHSE
Joanne’s Reflection on Week 1 of Rahui.
Where do I start?
Here goes. Getting our kids and our family adjusted to this Covid-19 Rahui has been a mixture of success, special moments to treasure but honestly it has been hard going most of the time, mentally as well as emotionally.
Our kids have had meltdowns, arguments, tears and as parents we have had them too. Alex and I have had a many disagreements and arguments (and me tears) over the need to keep kids busy with their school work or just let them have free play, should we set routines and reward system and how much time is too much screen time. With everything now being online… the kids school work, keeping in touch with our friends and family, Maya’s dance classes, the children’s Scout’s programme, my gym class, Alex’s project, Maya searching online for craft ideas and baking, Lukas looking at YouTube on how to make his woodwork projects, Spotify and the list goes on. Lukas and Maya did some school work last week but this week we have ditched the school work because it is officially the holidays for them as well as their teachers. To keep everyone sane as a family, we did what we do best and what we felt was right for all of us, which is getting the children involved around the house, with projects that they can help us with and be in our happy place. Alex and Lukas have been building the deck and working on Lukas’ woodwork projects. Maya and I have been working on the fish pond, baking and cooking and crafting and reorganising the pantry. In between all of that, we have gone for bike rides around where we live. We also have Viv who lives in our minor dwelling who is in our family bubble and honestly, she is God send. Viv is like a grandmother to our kids, our marriage councillor, our devoted advisor… a calm presence for off of us… our extended family.
We are tying to find this balance, and making this new norm work for us as a family and connecting with one another on a whole different level. The Rāhui has forced us to slow down, to adjust to this new dynamic at home and as parents to not fret about the little things but really spend time with them doing things that they enjoy. Lukas is on a making wooden weapons mission and we say ‘yes’ to his ideas. Maya has gone on YouTube to hunt for craft ideas and we say ‘yes’ to that as well. A shopping trip took me 3 hours yesterday at our local New World but that is the new norm because every other family is doing that too. I just did a bigger shop for two weeks instead of one.
I have learnt to celebrate the successes as well as failure because they are teaching / learning opportunities and help me to pause and think and evaluate. When I get angry or frustrated or anxious, I let myself have a cry because it is okay. My husband and I have shared our fears, try not to dwell too much on the unknown and adopt the attitude of ‘we shall deal with it when we get there’. Our kids only hear what we tell them because we don’t have cable TV. It is a fine line between keeping them safe and giving them enough information about what is going on right now.
We looks for special moments we enjoy with one another. My son and I are Star Wars fans, so we have a special date after dinner to watch the TV series of Mandalorian. So far we are on Episode 3. Maya and I have a baking or crafting session. She chooses a recipe or a craft idea and we try it out together. Sometimes, we have to substitute ingredients because we may not have them all at home. Alex and I are still team tagging, but just team tagging in at home. We are also slowing down in the sense that we are not rushing the kids from one thing to the other. I feel personally, Alex and I have had more time to talk to one another. Alex is making bread and sourdough from the culture we got from a lovely lady in our community. We live in a great community here and feel so grateful.
One of the many special moments happened on April 1, April Fool’s Day. My children collaborated on pranks. I had my phone and shoes stuck with double sided tape, spider pictures drawn on toilet paper, squirting water on me while pretending to sneeze all over me, and one of the best pranks was inserting mayonnaise with a syringe into my toothpaste and the both of them watching the change in my facial expression when I went to brush my teeth with mayo instead of tooth paste on it. They were both rolling on the floor laughing… my husband was in on it too by the way. Bahahahhaha… the things my crazy children come up with (husband included). Don’t worry, I said to myself, I shall get them back!
I am writing this to clear my head as well as to share with you my personal challenges during this time. It certainly hasn’t been easy. I find great comfort in writing my thoughts down and hope that by sharing it with you, you will find great comfort too.
Signing off for now and hope you are all well and safe in your family bubble. Arohanui to all of you and keep in touch. Xoxo Jo.
Written by Jo on 3 April 2020, Friday at 12.30pm.
Feedback on Storypark following Jo’s reflection:
Marie Greenbank
Thank you Jo ..wonderful writing. Keep up your amazing spirit and positivity. You, like our Cyrus and Sidonia, are adapting your lives so well to this completely new way of living. It is unique and precious. Embrace it. Granny Marie.
Anita Hedges
So good to see you reconnecting with family at this time – that’s the greatest gift we have been given during this Rahui!
Sidonia Greenbank
Thank you for your heartfelt diary and for your openness. It’s so humbling to read that we all face very similar challenges and are adjusting to something so new that it’s a very interesting time to find new ways of being. Lots of love to you and your family!
Boeun Kim
Always good to hear how others cope with new situation in this period of time. I was struggling to balance with myself and other family members because there is no “social” space between us. Thanks for sharing your story. It helps me to look back on myself and stay positive!
Julie Schooler
Thanks for the vulnerable post. I think the kids are learning – just different stuff to what they would be doing at school or kindy. They learned how to tie their shoelaces the other day and also what the biggest and smallest countries in the world are (Russia and Vatican City if you are wondering).
JULIE KILLICK
What follows is 3 of Julie’s diary contributions during the period of lockdown.
Part One (click on the image for the original story):
Part Two (click on the image for the orignal story):
Part Three (click on the image for the original story):
