Never have we ever

Well this is different. Never have we ever experienced anything like this. The kids have been asking us if school ever closed for students when we were growing up or if we have ever been through a pandemic before. We told them that this is a first for all of us.

Everything happened so fast. Last Monday was the last day Nicholas and Catherine went to school on campus. There was also news that a student (at a different school) just tested positive for Covid-19 and the ACT Education Directorate announced that schools would be pupil-free for the rest of Term 1. The kids only had 3 weeks left of school before the break. ANU had already announced a pause for students the same week and staff were strongly encouraged to work from home if they could.

Monday morning was highly emotional after hearing conflicting messages the night before from the Prime Minister and the ACT government. At drop off for Catherine, she became quite distressed and worried about images she kept seeing from a dream she had a few nights ago. I think she was quite anxious after hearing the news about the student getting sick as she had many questions about it the night before. We just happened to arrive the same time all the teachers came out the doors from what used to be the school library. It was then after seeing them coming out with mostly sombre faces that my brain registered that life would be different for all of us. I did note that Catherine’s amazing teacher from last year was upbeat and positive as always as she made a comment to the effect of now is a wonderful time to be a teacher (!). Catherine’s current teacher took Catherine into class and helped comfort her. As I left and started walking back to the car, I burst into tears. I called Phil and took my time getting to work that morning. At afterschool pick-up, I think Nicholas suddenly realised he wouldn’t see his friends for a while.

The rest of week was spent adjusting to this new way of life and trying to make sense of it all. We are grateful that we have each other and are together and safe. We've accepted that our coming days will be slower and that we'll have to take things one day at a time.

The schools have been great communicating and supporting the kids. On Wednesday, ANU announced campus would be closed from Thursday until at least 27th of June which is the end of the first semester. All staff were to work from home. We have rearranged our home in order to achieve learning and working from home all at the same time. It has been challenging and hard to separate work/school and home. On the first few days we played musical devices as Catherine did not yet have her own school device. We did wacky hair day as originally planned at school for Catherine. Nicholas’ school Get Up and Move Sessions have been popular and a good way to see what all his teachers look like. Phil and I have been doing a lot more exercise with the kids which is a plus. Comet also loves having us all at home but we have had to keep him outside to avoid chaos. Phil and I have been walking him after “work” and going on bear hunts (spotting houses with stuff bears in their windows). Also during our walks, we’ve seen more neighbours around.

More photos from our week here

We have also been communicating more with family, friends, teachers and colleagues with various video chats and meetings. I expect the novelty will soon wear off but it has been especially amazing to see us all connect this way. Catherine had her first online dance class on Saturday and I went on a virtual walk with a friend on Sunday. I walked to the shops and got takeaway coffee and last-minute cake ingredients while she walked along Lyneham Ridge. Our weekend ended with a short social distancing outing to Tidbinbilla and our weekly WhatsApp family catch-up. As my mother-in-law said, we are one week closer to this being over.