Early days
It's been a strange week.
Covid-19 has been wreaking havoc, turning our lives upside down and for the most part I think I've been in denial. I feel partly at least because I haven't fully comprehended the enormity of the situation, strangely. I avoided a lot of the information on social media and never seemed to have time to watch or read the news so spent a while not knowing much, blissfully unaware.
Then the schools closed!
I had to plug in a bit more at that point because now I needed to know things! Like whether childminders had to close as well, and if we didn't, who could we care for. Next came a barrage of questions on social media childminding groups, all wondering where we stand, when was the government going to address us directly and guide us, help us, would they provide support for those of us who can't remain open and don't have children claiming funded hours, were just a few of those questions. Hours turned into days and still there are unanswered questions and unclear answers. Many many minders have closed their doors and cried. Some of them are closed for good because this will break them, others don't know when they'll reopen and if their families will return after this is all over. They are even looking for work at supermarkets because this was their main or only source of income and what else can they do, but who will now look after their own children?!
I'm so grateful we haven't had to do this yet. We didn't close our doors wondering when/if they'll reopen, but we did say "see you soon" to some children not knowing when we'll see them again, that was hard (although you wouldn't know it because I was quite cool and collected at the time).
Was I still in denial, or was it more that I hadn't really had chance to process things yet? I hadn't really had chance to stop and think about it all fully because there had been so much to do and think about practically that really couldn't be put off or ignored. There were emails to read through, articles to look for and pore over, childminding groups to look through for helpful information, as well as the actual job of loving and caring for the children and parents we serve! It's no wonder really that I hadn't thought about the emotional side of things till after they were gone.
We are lucky, blessed, and very grateful that we can still look after some of our children. They are the children of critical workers/key workers. Teachers, charity workers, MOD staff. We're grateful for the work you do, and grateful for your loyalty, THANK YOU!
Covid-19 has been wreaking havoc, turning our lives upside down and for the most part I think I've been in denial. I feel partly at least because I haven't fully comprehended the enormity of the situation, strangely. I avoided a lot of the information on social media and never seemed to have time to watch or read the news so spent a while not knowing much, blissfully unaware.
Then the schools closed!
I had to plug in a bit more at that point because now I needed to know things! Like whether childminders had to close as well, and if we didn't, who could we care for. Next came a barrage of questions on social media childminding groups, all wondering where we stand, when was the government going to address us directly and guide us, help us, would they provide support for those of us who can't remain open and don't have children claiming funded hours, were just a few of those questions. Hours turned into days and still there are unanswered questions and unclear answers. Many many minders have closed their doors and cried. Some of them are closed for good because this will break them, others don't know when they'll reopen and if their families will return after this is all over. They are even looking for work at supermarkets because this was their main or only source of income and what else can they do, but who will now look after their own children?!
I'm so grateful we haven't had to do this yet. We didn't close our doors wondering when/if they'll reopen, but we did say "see you soon" to some children not knowing when we'll see them again, that was hard (although you wouldn't know it because I was quite cool and collected at the time).
Was I still in denial, or was it more that I hadn't really had chance to process things yet? I hadn't really had chance to stop and think about it all fully because there had been so much to do and think about practically that really couldn't be put off or ignored. There were emails to read through, articles to look for and pore over, childminding groups to look through for helpful information, as well as the actual job of loving and caring for the children and parents we serve! It's no wonder really that I hadn't thought about the emotional side of things till after they were gone.
We are lucky, blessed, and very grateful that we can still look after some of our children. They are the children of critical workers/key workers. Teachers, charity workers, MOD staff. We're grateful for the work you do, and grateful for your loyalty, THANK YOU!
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