I read an article recently that said many people were finding coming out of lockdown far more stressful than the initial weeks of it. I am inclined to agree. It feels a bit like we are being rushed back to 'normal' life without time to rehabilitate or take stock of what we did or did not work out via such drastic changes to our lifestyles. And what's more, the new 'normal' is not the same as the 'old normal' and I for one am still confused about what we can or cannot do. Every time I engage with something that is heading in the direction of life going back to 'normal' and it still falls short, I have to mourn the loss of the old life all over again.
I feel for our children too. I watched a five year old in the park yesterday and it dawned on me that he probably wouldn't remember much about 'the other life'. I wonder what impact this will have had on his pysche about other people and keeping safe. And going back to school for the more 'normal' version in September is going to require some adjustment.
So - I am beating around the bush - to say that I wrote a booklet that aims to help children reflect upon lockdown and prepare them for the return to school. My publishers snazzed up the emotion pages but took out a lot of the activities - that is why there are two versions.. Both versions can be found here . The snazzed up only version can be found here. I think the emotional adjustment of returning to 'normal' needs some reflection about lockdown as well as consideration for the emotional aspects of gearing up again.
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