The COVID dance

After a relaxed summer, things have again changed and are again uncertain. What can we do for our families and ourselves?

We always knew that these incredible COVID times were going to be drawn out and difficult. However, after a balmy Swiss summer with some al fresco dining, BBQ’s, swimming and lunches out we slipped back into the relaxation of our previous freedom only to be jolted back to the reality that COVID was simply taking his own holiday and is now back with a bang. Things have yet again changed and are yet again uncertain.

This is particularly difficult as we come into the Christmas season. As time stretches on since we have gone to our home countries or spent time with our families, things can become quite bleak. That annual Christmas holiday visit home to family is now being pushed down the road for another year. Cases are higher than ever, and we are entering into semi lockdowns and the uncertainty of where that will go. What can we do for our families and ourselves?

In our house, many different things take place in the course of a week from bike rides, movies, card games, meals, Mario Kart battles and Zoom calls with extended family. Some of what we do has been dictated as a result of the limitations put on us by COVID and we have had to adapt our life.

They become much more interesting if they are accelerated up a gear! Perhaps the movies can become family movie night with a rotation of the movie choice and the overall acceptance that Dad’s movie is not a winner, but we are watching it anyway! The alfresco dining may become a blanket on your balcony, a little bit of music and a cup of hot chocolate for everyone. The card games evolve into the family game night with some treats and a no-phone rule. The precious family zooms could also revolve around a coffee or nibbles where the beauty and magic of sharing food can still be experienced. 

So many memories will not be made in the traditional way for our children this year but that does not mean that memories cannot be made. COVID has taken so much but there are certain things that it cannot take. 

We can feel frustration, sadness, stress and fight through each day or we can try to accept our current reality and make the changes we can, to ensure that our families are not battling something which is out of our control but taking these COVID times and dancing the COVID dance as best we can.