Our New Normal

Hi friends, It has been over a month since the lockdown in Switzerland. My family have gotten used to life with Coronavirus, and we have accepted the new normal. Even my 4-year-old son understands that there is a virus happening. He knows that we have to sneeze into our sleeve, wash our hands more frequently and that he cannot play with his friends at the moment. We take each day as it comes, some days are a breeze, and some days are harder, especially when the kids go crazy from not being outside. Most days, it feels like the movie Groundhog Day. To help us cope with the "stay home" days, I came up with a schedule for the kids to use the time productively. So far, it seems to work pretty well. We don't always follow it to the "T", depending on how my kids feel that day, but I think some structure helps us manage the long parenting days better.

Homeschooling The last few weeks, I have been trying to homeschool my son to prepare him for Kindergarten (Hopefully, he starts school this August!). But it does not always play out as I planned. I had to learn to let him take the lead and be flexible with changes. Like the other day, I planned to craft a bee, and he wanted to build a racing car, but I did not have any materials ready to do that. Instead, we compromised and crafted a garage out of a card box and toilet rolls. In the end, he was so happy, and I was pleased that we did something fun together.

Screen time Obviously, some days I feel like I have done fuck all with the kids, especially when I have housework to do. I have to stop myself from feeling guilty if we don't do anything exciting or productive. Screen time now is definitely longer than usual. The only time for me to take a breather is during my daughter's nap time, so I stick my son in front of the TV. Then I sit next to him, drink my tea and go through emails or write my blog. Though we use more screen time now, we try to optimize it for him to learn things he is interested in and to help him with his German.

Mom guilt

Seriously, mom guilt is so real. I have to keep reminding myself that there is a crisis happening and everyone is learning to cope with the new situation. I think it helps with my anxiety level when I don't overload myself with social media and look at what other people are doing with their kids. It takes the pressure off when I don't have to measure up. I also tell myself that I do not always have to entertain my kids or make them happy. I just have to do my best every day. Just like my blog writing, at the moment, I can only commit to writing a blog a month, and I feel okay with that now.

Zooming Lately, to keep my sanity and not go bitch crazy on my husband and kids, I have been video calling my friends every week. Now that everyone is staying home, it means that we are more available to catch up. I have even been on a few virtual birthday parties to celebrate friends' birthday, which is the only way to come together as a group of friends! It is a bit chaotic when everyone tries to talk at the same time, but still, it is great to see my friends' faces. Despite not been able to hang out physically with friends, this pandemic has brought me closer to my friends afar. For the first time in our lives, whether you are rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, we all share the same uncertain future. Life will not be the same as before. In this crucial time, we need to support each other. Donate money if you can to help others. Sign petitions to help friends get financial help. Check-in with our family and friends more often, because I believe the only way we can ride this crazy pandemic is through love and compassion.

Stay strong, my friends! I cannot wait to give you a great, big human hug again. How is your new "normal" looking? I would love to hear what you have been up to since the lockdown.