On paper we might be about half way through our 12-week isolation during lockdown so it feels an apt time to think about what lockdown has taught me so far:

#ThankfulNotFearful

When I began tweeting using my hashtag #ThankfulNotFearful I wasn’t sure I would find something new to be thankful for every day, but looking back I can see my faith in the goodness of God was far too wizened and small. In reality I could find something different to be grateful for every day of the year during my daily constitutional in the local woods. The only restricting factor has been what my mother has taken photos of! For those not on Twitter below is a montage of some of the best photos.

Theatres, musicals and concerts

A few weeks before lockdown I attended a Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra concert in Bristol; it was a Christmas present and I was really excited to hear Grieg’s piano concerto. The Victoria Rooms in Bristol are a magnificent setting and I had been looking forward to hearing this beautiful, dramatic music live. And it did not disappoint. Tom Poster, the soloist, was captivating and the music resonated in my soul. My body had other ideas and halfway through the slow movement I had a seizure. Irritating and frustrating are understatements as I had to listen to the rest of the concert from the corridor.

But there were bigger ramifications of this seizure. Often in the past when I have gone to the theatre my body has spent time on the verge of a fit, and my mother and I put it down to the extra stimulus of the theatre. It certainly makes me cautious about going to live concerts and theatre. And certainly not with my sisters, because they would find the seizure very scary and it wouldn’t be fair.

So, what does this story have to do with lockdown? Suddenly, I can go to the theatre with my whole family, sat on the sofa in the front row. We have attended musicals, plays and concerts, and so far, without my body thinking about kyboshing the experience with a fit. And we’ve had so much fun!

But theatres are not the only ones to open their doors. In reality I can’t travel abroad due to my health, but thanks to the internet I can now visit lots of interesting places: Pharaohs tomb, Jerusalem’s Gihon spring, a gondola ride through Venice to name a few. And a roller-coaster ride in Hong Kong with my sister screaming next to me.

With Daddy at home we even get to go to church together every week.

Friends and family

Like many people, I am missing seeing friends and family in person. There is nothing like a Grannie cuddle or bantering with friends in the school corridor. But modern technology and lockdown means I am in contact with some people much more than I would be normally, so I see Gran on skype most days, have an etymology lesson with Grandpa once a week, and play on zoom with my friend from church every day. Last week we worked together on a poem about friendship for the zoom youth group meeting on Sunday, which is below.

Stay safe, give thanks in every circumstance and love greatly!

Friendship

Time expands when laughing together,
Creativity abounds in our shared endeavour,
Entertaining ideas, hilarious jokes,
Happiness and fun our friendship evokes.

We share all our secrets, with nothing to hide,
We can always be found by each other’s side,
A lifetime of constant morale and support,
Disability no barrier in eternity’s court.

By Alaric and Jonathan

Stay safe, give thanks in every circumstance and love greatly!