My Corona Voice, by Rachel Cox
A few years ago, there was a trend on social media to post something positive every day for 100 days. It was called #100HappyDays. I decided to do it back in 2014 and then again in 2015. Every year at the end of April, I am reminded of it through my Facebook memories. There are a great deal of fond recollections. In 2014 my eldest son was only 2 and it was the time I became pregnant again. In 2015 my youngest had arrived and I was still on maternity leave. I did sometimes describe it as a millstone around my neck. Sometimes I’d be in bed and suddenly realise that I’d forgotten to post and would quickly have to think of something original to write. All my posts were accompanied by at least 1 photo, so it’s a great documentation of my life at that snapshot in time.
Fast forward to April 29th 2020 and when my memories popped up again, they planted a tiny seed. Should I do it again? Was there any better time during a global pandemic to document 3+ months of positivity? Being a glutton for punishment I took the plunge and reposted. Although I am less than a quarter of the way through, I’ve selected 5 of the posts I’ve written so far that I know I wouldn’t have written during ‘normal times’. In years to come, I’ll be able to look back and recall with some partial fondness at this global pandemic we’ve all had to live through. Whilst it has been incredibly tough and we are by no means out of the woods yet, there are bright sparks of happiness each and every day.
3rd May 2020
#100HappyDays Day 5
I signed up for a study by University College London at the beginning of the lockdown. Every week I’m emailed a questionnaire to complete, mainly about what I’ve done (er nothing), how I’m feeling etc.
I’m not sure I’ve met anyone who’s breezing through all of this. Not even remotely. We are all finding it hard, in some way or another. But as I’ve written before, we are all in the same storm but definitely not in the same boat.
Working my way through the questionnaire it brought it home how lucky I was that when I got to the question below, I was able to answer no. That I haven’t lost my job, had a major cut in income, lost my house, lost a loved one …. Things may be hard but bloody hell they could be a helluva lot worse!
And that’s my happiness for today.
4th May 2020
#100HappyDays Day 6
Workload means that we don’t get to do many of the home schooling activities. Some days I’ll beat myself up about it, other days I just accept that’s the way it is.
I do try and do Jude’s phonics with him every day if I can. It’s my favourite of all his subjects. We go through a PowerPoint and usually he sits on my knee or we have a cuddle on the sofa. We take it in turns to read (depending on the colour of the words – mine are black, Jude’s are purple). He likes to impress me by sometimes reading my words (which are more difficult)
It only takes about 10-15 minutes but it’s one of the best parts of my day.
7th May 2020
#100HappyDays Day 9
The only way I can make inroads into any work at the moment is to be up, showered and sat with the laptop open at 7am. I definitely work better in the mornings. If I’m lucky I can sometimes get 90 minutes of pure quiet. If the boys get up earlier they often busy themselves playing.
Some days, I’ll get an earlier visitor .. usually this one! Today he came down, sat on my knee and want to see what I was doing. I ended up dazzling him with the delights of spreadsheets and he was super excited when I showed him how all the formulas work. I definitely think I’ve got a maths geek on my hands.
So I didn’t get as much work done as planned, but I do value my time when it’s just me and him, especially when I get a cheeky cuddle.
15th May 2020
#100HappyDays Day 17
Film Night Friday
Before lockdown, Friday nights were a hectic combination of finishing school, finishing work, having tea and going to and from gymnastics involving mum, dad, kids and grandparents. It never felt like the most relaxing start to the weekend.
Lockdown has ushered in a more gentle and laid back weekend beginning. Starting the very first week to celebrate surviving (just) home school and home working and also the arrival of Disney + , now every Friday we settle down to tea in front of the telly and a new film. We’ve had new-ish releases (Captain Marvel, Thor Ragnarok) and old favourites (Gremlins, Willow). Tonight was the turn of Man of Steel.
Getting together on the sofa as a foursome was a bit of a rarity before, but now we all love our regular cuddle and snack. A combination of teddies joins us each week and we always have a popcorn interlude half way through.
Mr C declined any photos as he was too busy ‘actually watching the Film Night Friday film’ !!
21st May 2020
#100HappyDays Day 23
My first socially distanced run….. and look how happy I am!!
For the past 4 years my running buddy, Anna and I aim to meet up once a week for a run/chat. Today we saw each other for the first time in over 2 months. The last time we ran it was still dark at night. It was hard to fight against my initial instinct (to give her a huge hug) otherwise it was almost like a normal run….
… apart from the 2 metre space between us. Luckily for her I have a very loud voice and I was easily capable of shouting back so she could hear.
We barely cracked the surface of all the stories we needed to share and needless to say we hardly paused for breath. Although we were slow, actually taking our time was just what we needed. Why be in a rush when you haven’t seen a person for 9+ weeks?
Although lockdown is far from over, tonight I felt like I got a slice of normality back.
