Sooo, dare I ask how lockdown is going in your house? It’s a loaded question I know!
If my social media feeds are anything to go by I think it’s fair to say we’re all finding it tough, whether you live in a 10 bedroom mansion like some of the celebrities keeping us entertained online or a 4th floor, two bedroom flat like us.
I know that in many ways we’re incredibly lucky – we live on the south coast with a view of the sea, and we also have an allotment we can escape to in place of a garden. But at the same time it’s not the same as having a back door you can throw open so they can come and go all day long.
What I’d give for a trampoline, a sandpit, a teepee or just a simple patch of grass for them to roll around on! I’d even entertain the idea of a mud kitchen which under normal circumstances I wouldn’t dream of installing!
So, after trying to inject some humour into the situation by sharing what lockdown has taught me about my family, I thought I’d share a window into our life living in a block of flats with three kids and no garden – and unsurprisingly it’s not all fun and games.
The reality of lockdown in a flat with no garden
There’s no getting away from it: only being able to go out once a day for fresh air is hard. And I’m green with envy of the owners of back doors who can let their kids run freely in and out.
There’s quite simply nowhere to escape to within the confines of our four walls – and owing to the fact we live on the 4th floor of a seven floor block of flats there’s neighbours, most of them elderly, to consider too.
We can’t start the day with Joe Wicks to burn off some of their endless energy because it’s simply too loud. Telling the kids to stop running, stop jumping, to walk lightly and consider our neighbours umpteen times a day – reminders usually reserved for weekends and holidays – is exhausting, and three weeks in to lockdown our pleas are falling on deaf ears because (unsurprisingly) we both sound like a stuck record.
Instead there’s lots of den building, baking and drawing going on, and I’ll be honest: far too much screen time.
As for the grown ups, the main frustration is trying to maintain some sort of exercise routine with our usual classes cancelled and our gyms and swimming pool closed, and no outside space.
I’m continuing with pregnancy yoga and have also enlisted the help of a personal trainer via Zoom, and Misery Guts is trying to keep up with Crossfit and meditation classes online – all of which is easier said than done when they involve taking over the largest room in the flat, require peace and quiet in the case of yoga and meditation and there are three little people to entertain.
But, it could be worse. We could live at the top of a London tower block where all the parks are closed and without the means to enlist the sanity-saving help of online classes via Zoom.
I’m pretty sure our elderly neighbours hate us even more than they did already, but we’re doing our best and our best is all that we can do under the circumstances.
How’s lockdown going in your house? Can you relate to any of the above?
My daughter in law is in the same situation, in a flat with no garden and 3 children #thatfridaylinky@_karendennis
I do feel for you. With only being here 5 months we have so much work to do on the garden before we can enjoy it. I am so thankful that we have this space though, because the canal side is a no go at the moment. There are just too many people coming and going, it’s not safe. They are ignoring the two metre distancing that’s for sure! x
I am exercising indoors, but I always did anyway, so that’s not a problem. I am however grateful for the backyard. I have set up the badminton net and we play twice a day, even the 21 year old. We also eat lunch outside most days and I’m trying to get them to play other lawn games (currently Finska) in an attempt to keep everyone’s mood up with the sunshine. Otherwise they’re on screens all day (they younger one does art and things off the screen but the older 3 are harder to lure off). We’ve not used our garden so much in years! We’ve even worn out some patches of grass! #KCACOLS
All you can do is your best. We are so grateful to have a garden for the kids to play in. We’re also doing a lot of drawing and painting too but i’m sure even the toddler is sick of that now. #KCACOLS
We can only do our best given the circumstances and I really feel for you not being able to let the kids run free. I’m not sure my eldest would cope without the garden he would be running up the walls if kept inside. I really feel for families in other countries that have had to keep kids in completely. #KCACOLS
I hear you! We also live in a flat with no garden so this is really an issue for us especially when the days are gorgeous and see people sharing their pools in their gardens! And we are in London so not much country side space you can scape for a good fresh air. It is definitely hard! #kcacols