Tamsin Davis
“Bed Intruder”
2020 has been an exhausting year, full of uncertainty. My husband has been working long days from our spare bedroom for months, dealing with furloughed staff, or companies reneging on contracts during lockdown; sometimes it gets to Friday and he realises he hasn’t been outside all week.
My daughter, nearly 6 now, still needs the comfort and reassurance of Mum and Dad and the ‘big bed’, and habitually smuggles herself under the covers. Often I only notice her there when I turn over in the night. And even though part of me hates the disturbed sleep and the grumpy morning after, an even bigger part of me loves this snuggling up together; I know it won’t last forever so I want to savour every moment of it now.
“Homeschooling”
Back when the kids were young I had a romantic view of home schooling. I had images of us going for long walks and talking about what we saw, lessons in the sunshine, all harmonious and free-flowing.
When the schools closed in March I got a crash course in what it’s really like. Suddenly I had to become a teacher for my 5 and 7yr olds, planning individual lessons, printing out endless worksheets, explaining new concepts, while also squeezing in all the other responsibilities.
This photo sums up the whole experience of home schooling for me: my son having a meltdown at the kitchen table while I try to teach him fractions. His reaction was exactly the way I felt too – tired, overwhelmed and frustrated. Needless to say I have a new-found appreciation of teachers and am very glad the kids are back at school.
“Lazy Lockdown Morning”
This was taken the morning of my birthday – the promised lie-in was hijacked by kids! But it was possibly the best birthday I’ve had. The lockdown meant cafes and places to visit were closed so instead we took a posh picnic to the park, played frisbee and ate ice cream - simple pleasures mean so much more during this lockdown. Spending the day with my family without the chores and responsibilities that usually go hand in hand with them: having somebody else make the food and clear it up and decide where we go and manage the tantrums – best treat for any mum!
“Paddling Pool Fun”
The start of lockdown in 2020 was scorching and we were so grateful to have a garden in which the kids could burn off their energy every day. Here the kids were playing a great game that involved wrestling each other into the paddling pool, which then evolved into some weird pool dance-off where they scored each other on the silliest moves.
“Pre-Bedtime Dance-a-thon”
Post dinner dance-off. When the kids still have energy to burn before bedtime, we each pick a favourite song to bust a groove to. Which generally means we listen to Lonely Boy by the Black Keys (John's good taste) then Dance Monkey three times - definitely our song of lockdown!
"Too Wet for Outdoor Play”
Mid-summer and the rain keeps on coming, making up for all those weeks of glorious weather. What a difference it makes, suddenly being unable to just open the back doors and let the kids run about freely in the garden. But they have been good at inventing games to entertain themselves, usually involving the Lego mini-figures, and when the rain finally paused, we spent a wonderful couple of hours walking around Watermead Park.