... I made that massive list of jobs to complete before I began this midwifery degree, so I'd be able to give it a large proportion of my attention and energy for three years?
Pah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
Yeah. So. Coronavirus happened.
Studying now has to be squidged, squodged and squeezed in around parenting, teaching my children (so thankful that my previous career means this is a very easy thing for me to slip back into!), delivering food boxes, Rachel's work, helping with our village support group network AND the extra housework that having four people permanently residing in one house, eating every meal (3 a day) and every snack (30 million a day) in the same house. Oh, and the animals. And the allotment. And zoom calls. And online dance classes. And sleep.
It's fun!
No, honestly, it's not all that bad. We are managing. We are extremely blessed to be in a privileged position to be able to cope with this lockdown. We are together. We have no only a house, but also a garden. No only a garden, but also an allotment. We live in a village, with a great resilient community. We have a community woodland a ten minute walk away. We have a stable income, despite the lockdown. We have good underlying health, so we're not at risk. We live in the Northern Hemisphere, where we tend to be very privileged anyway, and we have free at the point of service healthcare. We are beyond blessed.
My thanks to those people who are putting their very lives, and those of their loved ones on the line to help keep essential work going during this crisis. My thanks to those people who are doing the same to save others who are ill, or make their passings as gentle as possible. My prayers to those who are less privileged and are struggling.
Reach out. Don't suffer in silence. There are community groups keen to lend a socially distanced hand. There are systems in place. Let us lift each other up.