One of the bonuses of this COVID-19 time has been connecting with new people in my own street and chatting to them about how they are finding this time.

I was curious to see how different their life had become for them and their two young boys. So meet Claire and Mal.

How would you describe what is happening right now with COVID19?
This world-wide ‘hibernation’ is bizarre and surreal. Like many, we had heard about the threat of ‘superbugs’, but to experience it is something else completely. We didn’t imagine that something like this would happen in our lifetime.

How has this affected your family?
We have two young boys (2 years old and 5 months old), so life is pretty simple and beautiful for us, and we love being at home together as a family. I am a stay-at-home Mum, and most weekday mornings the boys had something on like swimming, KinderMusik, KinderGym, Mums Group, etc. And now, because of COVID-19, we have no activities on! Instead, we are enjoying our backyard, the neighbourhood, and simple pleasures like walking in the Botanic Gardens. We use technology to stay touch with our Mums Group Friends.

What is one thing you will always remember about this time?
Peaceful, simple, lovely days at home with our boys. But also, having to cancel our son’s second birthday party. I had prepared so much for his awesome ‘construction party’ and it was really heartbreaking to see it not used. Luckily, our son was none-the-wiser and had a great day with family regardless.

Does this scare you?
No. Not at all. Whilst this is bizarre and surreal, we think it’s important not to be scared. It possible to fear anything and everything, and we don’t want to live in fear.

Just before posting this, I asked Claire if she had any final thoughts on COVID-19 now. This was her response:

“As COVID-19 comes to a close, we feel gratitude for being in Australia, given that our country has handled the pandemic quite well. We feel thankful for a slower pace, lots of family time, playing at home, boredom, getting closer to our neighbours, living more with less, and just generally enjoying what isolation had to offer. We are optimistic people, so we focused on the positives of this experience”.

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