Day 134 - Corona crumble

Well, just as we are back in routine again at last and I've been able to work and write and do some of what I did before... the blessed Minister just announced schools will close for 4 weeks. Marvellous. The teen only gets two weeks off however.

I feel like singing "Life is fun" which is the youngest's favourite song right now. Gotta make the most of it.

I'm feeling grrrr.

It might also be the glimpse into Khayelitsha today, full of people who would ordinarily be working, or at school. The smoke from shacks that burned down. The melted tar on the roads from protests. Plastic tied to stakes, waving in the wind to mark out land grabs. The scrawny dogs nosing around for food. The eyes watching me as I delivered aid for a family, silently commenting "you are not like us".

There is injustice in it all. The corona shows the crumble.

The 2020 mid-year population estimate has SA at 59,6 million people (http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=13453). Including me.

Day 123 - Cos there are limits!

Yee haa. A year in just 3 and a bit months. How about some stats?

1 jar of Jacobs coffee - bought and paid for by the boy child
1 gardener finally working every two or three weeks
2 - the average number of cups of coffee each per day
2 LTE contracts - cos one was not enough
2 cats
2 kids - still alive and arguing a lot
2 bottles of wine in the first 6 weeks
3 months in and counting
3 days of youngest back at school
3 full time computers, 1 dodgy old one and 1 borrowed computer
4 hours (per day) - the old homeschooling timetable in the morning
4 puzzles
4 - the average number of cups of tea Adam and I each have per day
5.5 the number of bottles of wine in the cupboard for Wine Lockdown 2
6 weeks that older child has been back at school
6.30 - the time the alarm goes off nowadays
7 - the time the kids spring into action and start getting dressed
7.30 - the time they leave in the morning
10 - the number of litres of milk we go through in a week
14.30 - collection time in the afternoon
17 weeks of paying for house cleaning services and doing it ourselves
24 public library books
25 school library books
120 early morning coffees
1,000,000 "boreds" from the boy child

And a million and zillion "no no no no no-NOs" for requests for more screen time! Setting new limits!

Day 110 - Considering teenagers and the need for family rituals

Well, it's a very cold Thursday and I really, really want to just go back to bed. I've had two cups of coffee, two slices of bread and cheese, and three cookies. It's 11am and the rain is coming. I've cancelled the almost-teen's birthday party booking at a local pottery studio because I am concerned about public spaces, only to get a sms from them telling me that they are closing indefinitely. Sadness. Now to restructure a birthday under pandemic conditions.

In this null space I am taking a few moments to read a book by a local high school principal on raising and surviving teens. And one of the things he talks about is the importance of family rituals. So now I am reviewing and rebranding our rituals:

• Morning cuddles and coffee (for parents) before getting up
• Screen-free Friday days followed by Burger/Pizza Night and a series
• Family movie night Saturdays
• Sunday Lunch with proper pudding
• Sunday night Scrambled Egg on toast followed by Milo & Marshmallows
• Birthdays: pancake & presents for breakfast, cupcakes for school, pizza for supper 

Other less regular happenings are Cycle/Run with Dad. Family Walk.  And we try to have Family weekend aways and camping every 6 weeks or so. I'm wondering what new rituals we should create and develop to take us into the teen years. 

Maybe a night away with Mom or Dad camping when they hit their teens? Or snow chasing missions?

I guess we have rituals sorted? Including the one where I get asked "mom, do you know where xxx is?" at least five times a day.