I rang Naomi and let her know what we had been up to. I wanted to know her thoughts on this project and if they would like to be a part of it. Naomi and her family are great friends of ours. I’ve known Naomi for over 20 years. I was there when she met Scott, funnily enough we both met our husbands at the good old Glad.
It is possible that Naomi didn’t really know what I was asking of her and the family. I am not the best at explaining and I wasn’t 100% sure at the time what I was going to do with the final result, and I kind of still don’t. All I knew was that I needed to document this time. Lucky for me, because it was me, she was happy to be a part of the project.

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How would you describe what is happening right now with COVID19?
Surreal! There is no way we could have been prepared for the changes that this brought on and so suddenly.

How has this affected your family?
Not being able to see Mama and Papa or give them a hug just doesn’t feel right – I know Mum is feeling the isolation strongly. And not being able to see my sister & her kids during the school holidays when we would normally catch up is not good. Our little family unit of the 4 of us is much the same – if anything we are taking care to do more ‘fun’ stuff together.

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What is one thing that has surprised you about this event? Positively or negatively?
Positive – we came up with a list of things that we wanted to do around the house if there was lock down – even though that hasn’t happened and we are both still working, the mentality of wanting to get it done means that we’ve been working through that together and the place is looking better than ever.
Negative – I have an odd sense of guilt at still working – and still going in to the office. (I just need to mention here that Naomi has a Human Resources business called Focus HR and they were super busy helping businesses navigate through this time) My business needs me, the clients need help, and so I keep going. We also need to survive as a business so we can keep employing people. It doesn’t stop the sense of guilt on why I’m not just being a hermit at home.

What is one thing you will always remember about this time?
I’m not sure yet to be honest! People going stupid over toilet paper!?!

What do you think is really important right now?
Staying calm – humans can be so stupid and rash when they get fearful and we’ve seen that with the bulk buying of groceries etc.

What have you done to stay in touch with others?
Phone calls, zoom – in particular trying to touch base with my business owner friends as I feel they need the moral support more than ever.

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What is one thing that you miss right now?
Friday afternoon drinks with the team and being able to catch up with Sally & Anna – man that first drink together is going to be a good one! (Sure is and I can’t wait)

What have you been doing to keep yourself and your family busy?
As above – huge list of stuff to work on around the house – tearing down fences, mulching trees, cutting out the trees that died in the drought, pruning, re-sealing the deck, cleaning the kids clothing out, cleaning out the laundry cupboard, laying road base on the track – you name it, we’ve done it😊

Does COVID-19 scare you?
No

What is one good thing that you hope will happen after this is all over?
People valuing the ability to connect face to face again (we all use technology so much but hopefully now that we are being forced to do so, it will make us appreciate the real connections more)

One of my dearest friends Bec is our next story. She is one of the most creative people I know. She put together this gorgeous “Easter” setup and even had a little egg hunt and egg and spoon race. Certainly made for some fun shots and something to remember this time.

What is one thing you will always remember about this time?
How lucky we were! To have each other, to have supportive networks, to live in the country we do and to live regionally, to have a yard to play in, to both be able to work from home, that our toddler still day naps, to be surrounded by businesses adapting to this new normal – I mean, we can get fine dining takeaway! It’s not lost on us that we are really lucky to be able to socially isolate – a privilege not afforded to everyone worldwide.

What do you think is really important right now?
Looking after each other. And realising it’s OK not to be too ambitious during this time and achieving nothing more than keeping each other safe is enough.

What have you done to stay in touch with others?
We’ve been video calling the family and posting letters. It’s great we can keep in touch and still see each other even if it’s on a screen. This would have looked so different 20 years ago.

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What have you been doing to keep yourself and your family busy?
We introduced a mystery box – which funnily enough is a big toilet paper box. We’ve been putting a new thing in there each day – something to do like craft activity or maybe a toy or even something that’s been at the back of the cupboard for a while. It’s something for our little bloke (and us) to look forward to each day – a bit like a cheap Santa visiting each night. As busy as it is with a three year old, we are also really lucky to have his energy lighting up the house. And while it was so hard not spending Easter with family and friends I’m grateful it fell when it did as it was really fun to be able to create some magic around it for him – and to also capture this moment in our family’s history with these awesome photos.

What is one good thing that you hope will happen after this is all over? The sense of community has been uplifting – the times I’ve headed out to grab essentials you get the feeling people are supportive of each other. I think that will always be there (and always has been) it might go on the back burner but we’ll know it was there. The panicked buying at the start just came from fear – which is completely understandable since we haven’t dealt with a pandemic in our lifetimes. It’s comforting as you see the stock reappearing on the shelves and feels a bit symbolic of how far we’ve come.

Does this scare you?
We’ve just been taking each week at a time. Sometimes it’s easy to forget what’s actually going on, until you’re at the supermarket and they have the announcements over the loud speaker about social distancing – that jolts you back to reality quickly. I think I got a bit teary in Woollies the first time I heard it ha ha.

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We are very fortunate and I have found life to be a bit more simple lately as we really only have one thing to worry about now – keeping us safe, fed and housed.
I do wonder how hard it will actually be going back to our complex lives after this simplicity. The energy of adapting to this new normal will also start to dwindle. Country people have always socially distanced – but it’s broken up with big gatherings like the local show or races or a wedding – it’s not sustainable to be permanently socially distanced – we will all really need to be around others by the end of it.

But the main thing is this isn’t forever. I was explaining to our son yesterday that soon the leaves on our front yard’s tree will turn orange and fall. Then there will be a while where there’s no leaves at all, and slowly, new leaves will appear. Around then, things might start going back to normal (whatever post-pandemic normal is). To quote Pearl Jam, “No matter how cold the winter there’s a spring time ahead”.