Covid-19: Lila’s World
In the wake of the coronavirus I have been self isolating with my 4 year old, Lila. We went into isolation on the 18th March as she had a cough. After two weeks we ventured outside to the supermarket and found the world outside dramatically changed. Morrisons had an eerie dystopian feel and the streets of Totnes, where we live, had emptied of the usual buzz of life. Lila said “it’s a little bit lonely Mummy” which completely broke my heart. I feel for our kids right now. She is enjoying being a home with me but I can’t replace her 4 year old friends. After settling well into school who knows when she’ll return and see them all again.
I have been watching Lila closely during this time and writing down some of the things that she says. I try to imagine how this must be for her. I have noticed that her creativity has really taken a leap. She plays with dolls, which is something that she never did before. She's also started having non-picture books stories at bedtime. It's been wonderful to revisit my favourite Roald Dahl books with her.
I worry about what lies ahead and whether things will go back to how they were before. The future now seems more uncertain than ever. I've always been concerned about the environmental problems that we face but now I am awakened to this new threat. Is this a one off or are we now entering an era of pandemics? Some sources believe that there are millions of viruses contained underneath the permafrost which, once the planet has warmed a little more, could wreak havoc on human populations. If we look back to the Spanish Flu it mutated and the second wave was much more deadly. How can we be sure that this will not come back again twice as bad? These are the thoughts which keep me awake at night. I wonder whether to send Lila back to school and I think about her future. Will she be going to parties & festivals or will this generation have a more virtual social life? I hope that this will have some positive consequences but it feels like somehow Lila's world will be forever changed.
