It came to me in an instant – ‘consistency‘ is what I need right now in my life….a simple rhythm to my life, a little bit of routine and normality……a little more ebb and flow.
Reliable, unchanging, expected – consistency is all the things that the Covid virus is not. It may seem very boring and humdrum to some but a little consistency is what I yearn for at the moment; I need to know I will wake up in the morning and the day will be rather more structured than it has been of late and at a pace I can cope with – it will not be quite so messy and unpredictable as it has been since the end of the first lockdown.
So last Sunday night it was settled and committed to paper…...
‘Consistency’ would be my new focus word for 2021.
Well that was the plan on Sunday night – I would get my life back into some kind of routine so that I could do all the things that I had abandoned over the past few weeks such as meal planning, a daily walk, a little crafting, even some cleaning and housework and more than ever I felt so ready to get blogging once again ……but oh dear by Monday night, only 24 hours later, my life and my plans had changed in an instant once again – this time all it took was a telephone call from one of our daughters after the Boris briefing on TV.
Somehow we volunteered ourselves into taking on the childcare of little Freddie, who will be two in a few days time, for 3 full days a week rather than him going to nursery (and when I say full days that is what I mean 8am to almost 6pm). Long days indeed to entertain a little one but I am looking forward to spending more time with him after not being able to see him for months.
Our decision was made after the sudden change of mind by the government over primary and secondary schools and hearing the thoughts of a GP friend who sits on the primary care trust board for the region. He was alarmed at the figures he saw for the rate of spread and said he would not be sending his children to school or nursery even if Boris didn’t close them.
Like the hesitancy with the primary schools we felt that nursery schools might be kept open only to be closed a few days later and by this time, like some of the primary school children, they would have been and mixed with one another. So we are being cautious for now and just waiting to see if the nurseries might close as they have in Scotland. If they don’t and the infection figures begin to decline we will revise our decision.
All this means that I will have a lot less time for me to put all my new plans in place and probably less time for blogging – but I will do what I can when I can.
So early on Tuesday morning we woke, not only to snow, but to little Freddie on the doorstep complete with high chair, changing bag and a large box of toys! I only hope we have the stamina to last the course!
Even with little Freddie helping I did manage to make a birthday card for a friend and deliver it and we have had a lovely, if not brisk, walk each day with Freddie in the snow.
I have a large stock of these blank concertina cards in my craft room which I want to use up; so together with a selection of pressed flowers from the ones I pressed during the summer I attempted an idea for a little card I called ‘Nature Notes‘.
Instead of a fresh bunch of flowers I gave her this little laser cut wooden snowdrop I bought from an artisan craft stall in John Lewis a while ago. The package was perfect to push through her letterbox as they are sheilding again. She emailed me later to say how delighted she was with her gift and card – she does some beautiful crafts herself so always appreciates my handmade creations concoctions!
Apart from childcare and walking nothing much else got done here during the week and anything we do need to do will be done on our four days off (Friday to Monday). DH has been back on soup management with a lovely batch of tomato and leek and potato and I have been planning menus again – simple menus for the moment but it is a start. It is a pleasure to cook in our new kitchen – if not a learning curve with a new induction hob, double oven and dishwasher to master. I will do a post on the new kitchen soon – I need to find some before pictures so you can see the difference.
I will leave you with some pictures from our walk yesterday up towards the moors above our village. The views up there are stunning and being surrounded by nature makes the world feel quite perfect and untouched by the virus.
A lovely surprise to find some tiny catkins starting to grow on the trees.
Before I go I would like to say a very special thank you to all my blogging friends for the lovely comments welcoming me back to blogland – I am touched – and I was so pleased to hear everyone is fine and coping in their own way and that you all managed a relatively good Christmas despite the strange times.
So my mission this week is to work out a way, and goodness knows I keep trying, to weave our commitments and busy life into a more calm and balanced life.
Possible or not – I don’t know?
where the journey takes me 2 
You always have such lovely photos on your blog, a pleasure to look at.
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Thank you Sue – I am just about to go out now to capture some of the lovely snow pictures – we had a heavier fall overnight and it all looks quite magical outside.
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As I sit here in shorts and T-shirts Iām enjoying your snow photographs. It all looks so nice in that time before it gets slushy and messy. It all looks so very cold as well…..enjoy your little one on loan, Iām sure heās enjoying being with you.
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I am looking out now as dusk is falling and it is a slushy mess on the road – the crisp whiteness was nice while it lasted.
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Such beautiful photos!
Two is such a busy age, isn’t it? š xo
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He never stops and he is at the curious age so we have to always watch him so he doesn’t hurt himself.
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Welcome to the club! AKA – Grandparents to the rescue. I’ve had my 6 yr old GS virtual schooling with me since August for four days a week. Schools have not had in-school classes in my US county since March. Very intense trying to keep him focused and helping him get all his work done while also playing during short breaks from the computer (hallway kick ball, anyone?). Not to mention bottomless tummies. š ! I set up a desk for him in my home office and surrounded him with various learning tools. He uses my DH’s large executive office chair–the swiveling nearly drives me mad, but evidently it does work off some of his restlessness. His teacher is lovely and works so very hard, showing great kindness and understanding to the frustrated 24 children she oversees (ridiculous number) while she/we have to deal with multiple tech failures every day. I’m fortunate to be tech savvy enough to keep up with all the ways GS needs to use the computer (e.g. submitting assignments, team meetings, virtual testing, video taping reading, so many apps, etc.), but I feel for parents who don’t have Nannies like us to step into the breach. It is a full time job with very young children. Best of luck taking care of young Freddie. He’s a fortunate boy and so is his mommy. I know how appreciative my DD is given her very intense work schedule.
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Homeschooling must be so difficult….you deserve a meddle. Many parents are trying to send their children to school over here under the guise of key worker or vulnerable children, so some schools have an 80% occupancy at the moment and the teaching staff cannot cope. The key worker status has also been opened up further in this lockdown which has made the situation worse. My daughter’s Uni where she works has now declared their staff keyworkers which they were not previously.
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I think after having a 2 year old for 3 long days you will need the other 4 days to recover!
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I think you may be right there!!
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Good luck with finding a balance and some consistency, and enjoy your time with Little Freddie.
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Thank you Ann – I do enjoy being able to see him and play with him now – he is an easy child but oh so much energy!!
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Some snow there. You will survive and I feel the same re the consistence.
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A case of will have to survive thankfully it is only 3 days out of 7 which leaves me with 4 to do whatever has to be done. I am sure when we get into the flow of the childcare we will be able to get more done in the house at the same time – at the moment it reminds me of the time when you bring home a new baby and life as you knew it falls apart!!
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You will treasure these moments with your grandson and create many special memories that you (and he) will enjoy for years to come. Sacrificing a little consistency will be worth it. Just think, you are being consistently flexible!
Glad you are staying safe!
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I like your take on the consistency – you must definitely be a glass half full person!
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Your photographs were beautiful. So are your little nature notes!
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Thank you Debbie – the card is a bit of a prototype and a bit clumsy but I will improve it if I do some more. Having a two year old helping to do it meant it had to be done very quickly before the flowers became a heap of dust stuck to the glue!
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I love your snowy photographs. I’ve been so busy this week I didn’t manage to capture any. X
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I am making a big effort to slow down – being too busy is not good – we miss such a lot – this new lockdown has now both helped and hindered but I will throw myself into the childcare routine and do my best and most of all have lots of fun and cuddles with little Freddie while I can. I know when he eventually gets back to nursery I probably won’t be able to see him again if we are still living under restrictions for seeing family and friends. At least grandparents can do childcare this time around. x
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The best laid plans of mice and men and all that … eh!! I love your hand-made card, what a lovely idea.
And just as always your photos are gorgeous, your standard hasn’t slipped at all during your absence š
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I realised that from September I hardly took any photos and I have big gaps – even I hadn’t realised just how busy we had been installing the new kitchen and dealing with my mum as well as other issues. I had almost forgotten how to work the camera!
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Your photos are beautiful. I am envious of your snow as none here. Your card is lovely and you were brave to make it with a two year old helping. It is good you can help and make good memories to look back on.
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I know b*gger all about two year olds (unless they have four legs!) but I suspect that consistency is exactly the right thing for Freddie.
Reading between the confused government lines, I reckon you will have him with you until at least the end of March . . .
So very best of luck, enjoy every moment whilst you can, take loads of photos, and relax!
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Three long days a week; what a big commitment! I always found kids benefited from some undivided attention and a bit of benign inattention (completely safely of course) – and lots of reading and singing, in no matter what key!
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