Skip to main content

Motivation waning

Izzy puddle surfing in one of this
weeks biblical rain storms
I’m not sure what happened to last week’s post - I started it, but Sunday evening got away from me and once I’ve missed that slot I rarely recover and find the time to write in the week. I suspect the hot tub may have had something to do with it - it has certainly been a big time waster since it went in last weekend, but that was the intent so all OK.

The biggest newsflash this has been that the Coronavirus threat level has finally gone down from 4 to 3. This is exciting for a number of reasons, not least the fact that the BBC got to use a new graphic.  We are all waiting for BoJo to pull his finger out and announce that social distancing can go from 2m to 1m - but for some reason, maybe to save face, he’s insisting on waiting for the scientists to come up with a set of words that explains the rationale for having held out for so long Surely the reducing threat level is sufficient reason?? Even more importantly, the government has said that schools will be back in September with all pupils in. There are a lot of naysayers (including the teachers) but at least the gauntlet has been thrown down and the schools have something to work to. If nothing else these last few months have shown that school is about far more than just learning and I'm so keen for them to be back with their friends again. 

The girls have only 2 weeks left in school and it feels like getting them to stay focused will be an uphill  battle. They are doing OK with the core subjects but when it comes to subjects best taught in a proper setting (textiles, cookery, computing) it's much harder. That said Abi, made a pretty good pizza this Thursday - good enough it was pretty much gone by the time I emerged from my study - and Izzy has managed some decent artwork.

I’m definitely feeling the need for a break now. It’s been a very intense 6 months between starting my new job and then all of this. I have one week to go and then a week off - I cannot wait. This week is another busy one but at least I know there’s respite at the end. I’m not alone. Talking to a number of people we are all feeling the strain. Lots of people are now struggling to stay motivated in the constant barrage of video calls. What we wouldn’t give for a day in the office now! I’m waiting for the trains to start running again (there’s still no direct train from Newbury to London) and then I plan to do at least one day in the office every couple of weeks - for a sanity check if nothing else. 

It is a strange time. The virus hasn’t gone away but there’s less of it in circulation so we feel safer. Locally I think people feel it’s pretty much gone (it sort of has given no new cases in the county for almost 2 weeks) but of course that’s because we’ve all been on lockdown for nearly 4 months. What happens when we start moving around again? 
Hot tub heaven

In amongst this the kids are loving having a bit more of a social life again. Izzy spent Friday afternoon with Amber and then we met friends motorbiking yesterday and Abi spent last night at a friends and this afternoon segwaying around the village with another friend. Izzy has been a bit quiet this weekend - I can't decide whether she is just missing the social interaction now ands it's taking its toll or that she's tired because its the end of term. I keep having to remind myself that although they haven't left the house, I know it's tiring concentrating on a screen all day, so it must be for them as well. I just want them to see more of their friends and not feel so isolated. 

Right - yet again it's gone 10pm and another week beckons. after torrential rain and storms this week it's forecast to be 30 degrees by Wednesday - as if a rampant virus wasn't enough to confuse us the weather has gone bonkers as well!


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's beginning to feel a bit like Christmas...

I was sure I write the blog last week.... but, it seems another 2 weeks have flown by and now we are staring down the barrel of the Christmas holidays and the end of the year! Currently it's all about Doug and what a star he has proved to be so far. He has now been with us for 3 weeks and he is (so far, I keep thinking at some point it will change) a pretty chilled out puppy. As a second dog he has been thrown in at the deep end and has been to Sunday lunch with Alan & Sarah (which he loved), socialised at home with friends and their dogs, met babies (he loved Elsie) and started to go for walks. The walking has been a bit different to our previous approaches with new dogs. In the past we have ventured out carefully, making sure that our new baby only walks a short distance so they can experience all the new sights and sounds. Doug's first walk was after Sunday lunch last week, just him and 8 other dogs for bout 45 mins - he loved it! In our defence we didn't let him wal...
Post a Comment
Read more

Welcome Albert James!

So this week has been full of new things - Jess and Chris have welcomed Albert James Wilkinson Rayner to the family, a tad early but all doing well apparently (and so cute!!), I started my new job, Abi has her new shed and Dad got sorted on a phone that wasn't invented before the kids were born!! I always knew this week was going to be full on and it certainly has been. The first thing I had to do was try and sort out my diary which had been filled from dawn to dusk by my predecessor with meetings. I decided to set out as I mean to go on and immediately took out those that started before 9am. While I can get into  the office for 8am , it's a pain and requires me to be on the 6:30am train which is just a bit much every day (stating the obvious). I then made it clear that we don't need to be joined at the hip for the next 4 weeks which is a sensitive process - even though he is retiring it's hard to let go and he is understandably keen that the team are looked after. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Diary management!

This part of the summer is definitely typified by me trying to remember who is supposed to be where and when. Abi likes to be off doing something with someone while Izzy is happier to know she's close to home and so for the last week they've gone their separate ways. Abi has been down in Somerset making the most of Ben and Laurie being about. From what I can tell she's having a lovely time. Apart from the covert phone call one evening to tell me she was 'starving'  (Mum was cooking for the hordes and so it had been delayed), I've barely heard from her. The few calls I have had have very quickly ended in "can I go now" like I'm making her speak to me! Today she switches from Mum and Dads to a night or two with Kerrie - not sure who is more excited! Izzy didn't want to be away for that long so she opted not to go. She's very conscious that Abi and Laurie are joined at the hip when together and Ben has his own things he wants to do so she ...
Post a Comment
Read more