Your work emails are backing up, the kids are refusing to do any schoolwork and throwing a major strop. Your house looks like it’s been ransacked, and you’re counting down the hours until the kids are in bed so you can have a glass of wine and de-stress! Sounds familiar right? Yep. Life in lockdown.
Amy's Big Break
The first few weeks we thought we had it nailed. We had a nice routine going, the kids were on board with home learning. Then Easter break happened. The kids got used to not doing anything but playing, destroying my whole house in a whirlwind like two little Tasmanian devils! My workload was ramping up, my husband was back at work, and with the kids not showing any enthusiasm or willingness, schoolwork had become pretty much non-existent. But even with all this going on, I seemed to have more time on my hands.
There was no dragging the kids out of bed at six thirty in the morning and barking orders at them. No rushing them out of the house to drop them at childcare by seven thirty, before doing the morning commute. And then repeating the whole rigmarole in reverse on the way home. No rushing here there and everywhere at the weekends, because we always have plans.
I suddenly felt less tired. I’d usually be falling asleep putting the kids to bed, now I was up past midnight! Sometimes I’d wake up at two in the morning, and I’d be wide awake. What did I do with this newfound time? Did I clean the house? Nah, what’s the point, the kids would only trash it again the next day! No, I re-opened a project I’d started but not had to time to continue, a chick-lit book I’d started to write.
At the start, I sent it to my best friend for her opinion and to my amazement, she loved it! It filled me with the confidence I needed to continue. Lockdown has been an unusual experience, full of ups and downs for everyone. Reading gives your mind an escape from reality into a fantasy world, and I’ve discovered that writing does the same. It has been a great distraction for me, taking my mind off all that was going on in the world. Every time I got my laptop out and started typing away, I was wrapped up in my characters life. I felt like I was transporting myself to another place full of sunshine, laughter and cocktails. I truly hope that my readers get the same experience, and from the reviews I received so far, it seems they do.
I am immensely proud that I have come out of lockdown with a major positive. I am now a published author! I now have the writing bug! With lockdown restrictions lifting, I have less time on my hands. But I have enjoyed it so much, that I will make sure I find the time to complete my second book. Watch this space!