So a new month and another month full of cancelled plans. This was going to be a great month for Little Man, his school residential, cub camp and our annual trip to Butlins. Sadly none are going to happen now. We had decided that even if lockdown was relaxed that we wouldn’t go on holiday. We want to relax and have fun on holiday, be in communal areas to swim, watch shows, play and eat out, and we quickly realised that even if Butlins opened our holiday couldn’t be like normal. Fortunately, Butlins cancelled all bookings last week and we have had all our money refunded easily. At present we haven’t rearranged as we don’t know where we’ll be in the months to come. We are doubtful if our summer holiday will happen and have been honest and upfront with the children about this possibility. They seem to be okay but we have a beautiful sandy beach at the bottom of our road so a summer at home will be full of beach days, if the rules allow it. The only trip away I want to do at present is simply to see our parents.

As we start this month, we still don’t know how long we’ll be in lockdown, its been 40 days so far and Boris has spoken today about maintaining the lockdown, I’m fine with this. We’re so lucky to be in the position we are and it feels safe. I’m not sure how I’ll feel when we are free to do more, I feel like we’re in a safe, protective bubble at present and opening up will give more risk. Again, we don’t know if the children will be at school this month, I doubt it and think realistically it won’t be until September that we are back to school. This will mean Little Man’s transition to secondary school and leaving primary will be very different to his sister’s last year, the lockdown seems to be affecting him more with some of the coming of age events cancelled. He’s taking it calmly and is focusing on the positives, his attitude certainly helps us all. I think I’m more upset on the things he’s missing out on.

As we don’t have anything to look forward to this month its another month of simply being in the present, enjoying the simple things and writing lists of things to look forward to in the future. This list won’t be full of exotic holidays or expensive shopping trips, but seeing parents, going for a coffee with friends, playing football in the park or enjoying the latest film in the cinema. The pandemic has given us a new perspective on how we want our lives to be lived. I think this will be the most positive and life affirming result of the pandemic along with an even deeper love for our Nhs and our communities.

Happy May.