Coffee, Podcast & Work

Today is day 163...

It was lovely this morning to meet up with some of my team to have a coffee and a non-work chat at a local cafe and great to see the cafe operating well and following the current guidelines.

Once home Simon was just on his lunch break so we decided to take a walk...in the rain! It wasn't raining that much when we set off but by the time we got back I did feel rather damp and cold, but a coffee soon warmed me up.

It was then time to jump online with my fellow Disney Dream Girl Michelle to record our weekly podcast. We chatted about Donald Duck, Halloween fun at Disneyland Paris and Halloween foodie treats at Walt Disney World.

And then it was head down to get completely on top of all my pre-school work so that I can take the next four days off before we start back properly for the new school year. Pretty pleased with my efforts as in about 4 hours I managed to email all parents with a new parental agreement, all staff with a staff agreement, update staff's contracts, update their working hours, update holiday pay, update time sheets, update the diary and produce registers. I am now happy that everything is as done as it can be so I can relax a bit before we hit the ground running next week.

So in amongst all the day to day stuff I still find myself asking whether we know what the rules are anymore for this Coronavirus situation? And whether anyone is actually following them or is it just me?

I don't know about anyone else out there but when I see social media posts or hear stories of friends meeting up I kind of feel cheated. Life has been put on hold for all of us and that sucks...big time...but I thought we were all in it together and following the rules so that we could all stay healthy. But I look around and it appears that there's an awful lot of 'bending' the rules going on, all happening while I do as I've been told (to the best of my abilities and understanding).

Plus I really don't get some of these rules...I can only meet with another household in my own house but I can sit indoors in a pub or restaurant with my own family or perhaps another household but at the same time as being in a room full of strangers...all breathing the same air. 

We have mixed opinions coming out from scientists some advocating the very strict lockdown that we had back in March/April time, others saying it's okay to be relaxing the rules a little but when schools go back perhaps we should think about closing pubs and then there are those that say we got it all wrong and it's an over reaction that is playing to our human fears and will only benefit big pharma when they come along with a miracle vaccine, except it won't be that miraculous as we will need to have it each year just like the current flu jabs. The cynic inside of me says someone somewhere is benefiting from all of this financially and probably politically....COVID is going to be a really good excuse when Brexit fails or the US elections go pear shaped!

But where does this leave us all, all of us who want to do our bit and are trying to follow the rules but to be frank are either struggling or are struggling to understand the mentality behind them. I think it, rightly or wrongly, comes down to us all trying to take the most sensible approach and 'risk assessing' what we want to do and how best to do it or at least find a way that we feel comfortable with.

But this does mean that for some it is a green light to just forget everything and carry on as if nothing has happened and that's the frustrating element in all of this...as it is with most things in life the actions of a minority will more than likely spoil it for the majority.

I, like everyone else, want to be back to normal...or whatever normal is going to be...to be able to do what I want, when I want and go where I want without having to consider the whys and the wherefores but at the moment it can feel never ending and very out of reach. We can only hope that progress is being made and that we are getting closer to finding a way out of this. 

So whatever you may be up to, take care, stay safe, keep your distance and wear a mask.

xx