Lynne’s Column

Life After Lockdown

Normally this month I’d be writing about summer holidays and schools breaking up. But in this extraordinary year, the start of July will signal the end of over three months of children being home schooled whilst many of us worked from home or were furloughed.

As we’ve stayed home in order to minimise the devastating impact of coronavirus, there has been time to think and reflect on our priorities in life. Those of us not on the frontline have been enormously grateful for our everyday heroes and we’ve been able to reconnect with families, friends and neighbours, even if it’s been online rather than in person.

Humour has shone through and given us something to smile about amongst the bleak news headlines. I will forever hear Janey Godley’s voice when I listen to Nicola Sturgeon’s speeches and I have loved Andrew Cotter’s hilarious narratives of Olive and Mabel, his two pet dogs.

At time of writing we are cautiously beginning to ease lockdown measures. Whilst I will welcome the return of more freedom and increased social opportunities, I must confess that I harbour some mild anxiety about adjusting to post-lockdown life. I’m wary of accidentally doing the wrong thing and feel rather gauche about the new social etiquette that we will need to adhere to.

There are some aspects of my own lockdown life that I want to continue in the future - the regular walks in the Pentlands or Colinton Dell, the opportunity to work from home more often and remembering to stay connected with the important people in my life.

My abiding memories of this time will be the things that have made me smile. The amazing views of Edinburgh and the occasional glimpse of wildlife (deer, rabbits, bats, hedgehogs) from regular evening walks. The rainbows in the windows. The painted rocks and ribbons by the school gates and roadsides. And of watching my children grow in front of my very eyes (aided by copious amounts of sleep!) Bleary eyed teenagers clad in dressing gowns wandering though the kitchen at odd times of day clutching gargantuan bowls of cereal.

When life is full on and busy it’s easy to forget how precious our families are and take for granted those people right under our nose. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that my own little family sometimes drive each other mad and we definitely don’t always see eye to eye. But I can think of no other people on earth that I would rather have shared lockdown with.

Whatever the future may look like, I hope we can all emerge from this time with a renewed sense of priorities, more tolerance and compassion and stronger bonds with our loved ones than ever before.

Lynne lives in Colinton with her husband and two children. She dreams of being a freelance writer when she grows up but mostly just avoids growing up!