We live in very strange times. Nothing is certain, the news is scary, the supermarkets are full of people fighting over loo rolls, and there is a global pandemic of a new virus that in many cases is mild and is no more than a bad cold or mild flu, but in up to 4% of cases is fatal. Globally, hospitals and health care systems are being pushed to breaking point because of the volume of patients who need intensive care treatment. Some leaders seem as lost as we feel, and the advice coming from the top seems to change on a daily, or in some times hourly basis.

This week, vulnerable people have been advised to self-isolate for up to 12 weeks, and now schools are shutting to most students, possibly until September. That’s 5 months of our darlings at home, with limited places to visit and to explore and a changing world that we need to explain to them.

I am going to do a weekly blog, on top of any other ramblings I may post, to talk about how we are doing, to share information and ideas, and to try and build a sense of community. As you will know from previous blogs, my children are now 23 & 15, but between them have a variety of learning/social barriers including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, anxiety and Irlen Syndrome, so we are used to thinking outside the box, or even like there is no box. Hopefully my musings will help you all, but please either comment on the blog or on social media if you have found good or bad things that would be good to share – and things that didn’t work can be as useful as things that do!

This week, our youngest and I have been on house arrest as we both have a cough. Is it C-19? Probably not, but it is a persistent cough, we are both really tired and were achy at the start, so we’re not taking any chances. To be honest, he hasn’t really been well enough to look at the work school have sent through, and until last night wasn’t really that interested in what was going on. However, as the school closures became official, he started to rant about everything the government could have done differently, how the closures are too late, how all the governments should have worked together more….and so it went on. It’s good that he’s feeling better, but this anger will be around for a while.

I’m not going to start home schooling properly until Monday as he still isn’t 100% and I’m not up to the battles. However, I do need to plan at least an outline of what we will be doing over the next few weeks. We need a timetable or procrastination and distraction will mean we’ve baked a lot of scones, but haven’t really progressed with higher level GCSE maths! I think a couple of hours a day schooling, with a break in between, and then time outside gardening, walking the dog, going to the local National Trust property (while avoiding people), meeting up with friends, if we can, and whatever else we may decide to do, that fits into the government guidelines at the time.

I am not dreading this – there is a little apprehension – but we have become obsessed with being busy, with rushing from one thing to the next, to have the latest, to buy the latest, and that’s not an option right now. The first thing on our non-school list is gardening. Plant seeds, nurture them, and eat them when they are ready. We are going to watch the seasons change, and we are going to make the most of this enforced break, and we are going to listen to the earth, and listen to ourselves.