The year 2020 has come along with tons of bad news. Whether it be the Australian bushfire or the communal riots in India, we are witnessing many forms of cataclysm in 2020. And the biggest trouble faced so far by the public and the economies is the sudden coronavirus outbreak. As of now, (9th may, 2020) there are around 4 million positive cases registered of the coronavirus, and around 1.32 million people have successfully recovered. However, on the dark side, around 275k people have died, among which the majority is of people above the age of 60.
In order to end this pandemic, the government came up with various instructions and among them was the instruction of a national (more like worldwide) lockdown.
A brief on Coronavirus Lockdown
The lockdown in India started on 24th march, 2020 with the announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Initially, it was for 21 days, but because of the Covid19 situation not getting any better, the lockdown has been extended several times.
Even though people are aware of the necessity for the national lockdown and the important purpose it holds, they can’t help but feel bored and maybe even a little annoyed, which simultaneously comes with the desire of entering the outside world.
However, no matter how hard it is for you to stay inside, you have to stay in to stay safe. And hey, lockdown isn’t that boring. There are actually some interesting things to do in order to utilize this time in a positive way instead of wasting it.
Here’s my story of what I am doing in this lockdown phase and how I am managing to keep myself content and cheerful.
How we are Enjoying the Lockdown Situation At home!
Firstly, I think I should start with a little introduction of my life. Well, I am a 35 years old woman whose life revolves around two little kids, a useless husband and a teaching job for high school students.
The area I reside has a positive case of coronavirus, because of which it has become impossible to step outside. However, life is somehow going on, especially with the help of the police officers who are working day and night, risking their lives to keep us safe. They are truly the blessing in disguise.
So my day starts with my little stubborn 4 years old crying out so loud that I sometimes doubt if she is the reason for noise pollution. Yeah, not a very good start I know, but that is what it is, but on the bright side, I never need to set up an alarm. The day goes on with my little ones fighting for the most random things that absolutely make no sense. For example, recently a pigeon gave two eggs in my balcony, which are now grown up babies ready to fly any moment. Yes, it is very beautiful to observe, even with the dirt they create. (I swear I am not complaining)
But the funny thing is that one day I found my two daughters (Age 4 and Age 6) shouting and crying over who between them is the mother of the baby pigeons. I am not lying when I say that I literally saw an absolutely annoyed look on the face of the actual mother pigeon as if she was saying, “What am I? A joke to you too little fellas?”
Anyways, that fight eventually stopped by coming to a conclusion that whoever is the mother of the baby pigeons cannot eat chocolate as it will harm the babies. No logic, I know, but it worked on those two as they instantly backed up from their senseless fight. Another difficulty I face these days is teaching my students online on a video call. First of all, I am not a technology expert, so initially it was very difficult for me but now I do have a hold on it.
But the biggest problem with online teaching is my kids again. The whole day, these two are busy among themselves, but the moment I start my video call teaching, it becomes total chaos. Fighting, crying, shouting and every possible method is used by them just to crave my attention. My husband does help me in handling them while I am teaching, not so useless apparently, but still, it is one hell of a time.
And now it is time to introduce you with the problem of maid which is making me mad. I have never ever cried over someone in my life this much, not even for Jack in the epic titanic scene, as much I have cried over the absence of my maid.
Now that she is not here, cleaning, dusting, washing and every other house chores have become a stressful nightmare. I have always been the cook and so I do not have any problems with that, but I do struggle over just by the sight of the dirty dishes left to wash. And don’t even dare to ask, “why don’t you ask your husband for a little help?”, because even when he tries to help, he ends up failing miserably and increasing my workload.
At this point, I have forgotten the count of how many dishes and showpieces he has broken. If there is an award for “the clumsiest person”, my husband truly deserve it and I can bet my life that he will end up breaking that award into two pieces as well. However, even after so much of absolute traumatic circumstances my family creates, I love them and I am somewhere loving this period of lockdown because I am getting more time to spend with my family and I know these moments will never come back.
From the arguments to the little “charades” and “stone, paper, rock” games, I am nourishing it all and adding it to my collection of memories which constantly reminds me of the love I receive from them. Yes, there are arguments sometimes, but that doesn’t make our love any less and we are totally utilising this time to come even closer to each other, if that’s even possible, and look after each other’s mental and physical health because that’s what makes us a happy and loving family.