A Mother’s Lockdown Diary: On What I Learnt From The Lockdown

The lockdown has had an unprecedented impact on our daily lives. Are there things we can learn and take away from this unusual time?

In the first week of March 2020, as a mother of two young kids aged 9 and 7 years, I had to make a very crucial decision on whether they would go to school or not because of the Coronavirus. I did not know what to make out of it? Where did this question even come from?

Coronavirus was here

What were the heads or tails of it? Still in my own style of ignoring all the negative news, I carried on. The jolt came when many kids did not turn up for my children’s birthday party on 7th March. For me personally, it was official, coronavirus was here.

No one knew what was happening.

Social media awaits

 Being an introvert , I’ve been away from social media for quite some time. I don’t have anything against it. It’s just not my cup of tea or Dalgona coffee (term which I learnt on social media only). During the lockdown, I started scrolling through Facebook and YouTube etc for entertainment and mainly out of boredom in the afternoon, when there was nothing to do.

I was happy to see that people were still positive and happy and trying to maintain some routine in their lives. They were being productive. There were posts of people cooking awesome food, learning yoga, kids doing some amazing crafts and paintings, families finding new hobbies together and what not.

My reaction was –Wow!

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

Even after doing all the cleaning and utensils and washing, getting kids’ things done and going through the nitty-gritties of the daily routine, they still had all the energy to write posts and make videos and do all the exciting stuff.

Pandora’s box?

 Somewhere in the back of my mind the thought started lurking. Here I was, dead tired and just sleeping like a log at the end of the day. I was not learning anything new. I was not teaching my kids anything new. I was not cooking any fancy food. My house was in mess some of the days. My kids were fighting and yelling and sometimes I was also yelling but somehow everything seemed normal. We were happy in our own world.

Till the time, I decided that we had to get into a proper routine and get productive. Perhaps we could even learn something new on social media.

Little did I realise that unknowingly, I had opened Pandora’s box. I was under pressure to perform and unwantedly though, I had put the same pressure on to my family.

For a week to 10 days, I tried to follow it but these days, I realised the basics of my life again. I would say I was rather lucky it took me only a week.

What I learnt about acceptance 

Accept that the times are rather unprecedented. There’s nothing normal about what is happening now. So don’t try to act like it is. Try to see the world objectively and ensure that you understand the new reality and what is at stake. Stay pragmatic!

What productivity means now 

It has different meanings for everyone. Social media puts unwanted presure and far-fetched thoughts in your head that if you are not doing the said things, somehow you are not enough. For me, being productive meant going through the days happily and easily and accepting that I am an average in many things. I am only human, which brings me to my next belief.

Being average is ok

You don’t have to excel at everything you do or anything at all. In this world of hyper achievements and reaching new heights everyday, it’s OK to be an average person and be happy about it.

Be aware of social media 

WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and all other platforms are a miracle. Cannot imagine going through these times without them?

The connect  they provide to the outside world is overwhelming and at the same time, reassuring. But it also creates a false world where everyone is happy, constantly striving, achieving and productive. No one knows what goes on behind the scenes.

What is reality? So be very aware of what you absorb from social media and how it affects your thought process. It creates an undue competition of doing more and achieving more.

Stick to the positives!

Be smart enough to understand what you want from life. This lockdown provides a beautiful opportunity to do just that exactly. Do not try to become someone you see on social media. Be confident enough to realise your potential and yet making the choice if you want to put yourself out there or not.

It’s very much alright to be a private person. Reality may be that you are better at many things that you see people doing on social media but if you are not comfortable to put yourself out there, don’t do it. Have the guts to tell yourself it’s not me. If you want to go ahead, by all means, do it. My point being, the choice and decision should be yours and not influenced by the paradox of social media.

In the end, I would say, don’t judge. Everyone in this world is on a journey, I believe, to find oneself and this becomes all the more relevant in these trying times.

So let’s be in this together and don’t judge each other and most importantly our own self. Be a little more kind to yourself and love yourself a little more, and you will find your place in this chaos.

Image Source: Pexels

Comments