The Virus and Us – Cancellations

I don’t normally blog about things that are going on in the world. I like to keep the blog about our family life. A diary for the children to look back on. But the virus that is hitting the world has finally landed on our doorstep. I want the kids to know the madness that is going on at the moment was for a reason. I decided that my first post will be about cancellations. It feels like all I am doing is canceling things from our calendar.

To be honest we have been watching the virus closely for quite a few weeks. This is because we were meant to be going to Disneyland Paris at the end of the month. We needed to keep an eye on what was going on.

Our Cancellations To Date

Disneyland Paris

My 40th birthday trip to Disneyland Paris is now officially cancelled. I’m so glad that we got the chance to visit at Christmas, it has softened the blow a little bit. What is sad is that this is the first time the children knew we were going. Little E understands that we aren’t going. Ethan, on the other hand, has no clue. We tried to tell him it wasn’t happening but he got very distressed and went into a full meltdown. He knows the date that we were meant to be leaving. It is going to be an interesting day!

My 40th Birthday

I’m sad about not going to Disney but also slightly relieved that cancelling the trip to France was taken out of our hands. Last week I had thoughts that we would still be able to go out for a nice lunch. This week as the social distancing has come into place I’m thinking of putting my 40th on hold until next year!

Ballet Show

Little E and her ballet school have been working hard on this years show. The performance was going to be this coming weekend. Little E’s second-ever show. That has now been cancelled.

Swimming Lessons

Darren had already decided he wanted to put the children’s lessons on hold. From social media, it looks like these too will be officially cancelled.

Ethan’s Teaching Assistant Visits

Since Ethan had his throwing issues we have had a teaching assistant form his school visit him once a week. She takes him out on his bike, to the soft play, to the park and last week they visited the cinema for the first time. I have cancelled these visits until further notice.

School Activities

Little E had lots of extra activities that I had to attend. This included an open lesson for me to attend and a mother’s day lunch. These have all been postponed.

Voice In A Million

Ethan was going to be singing at Wembly next week. He was taking part in Voice In a Million. Something I never thought he would be part of. This has also been postponed.

Friday Nights at Nanny’s

Part of Ethan’s routine is to spend the night at nanny’s on Friday night. This is something my mum has done to help us have one night a week of better sleep. I’m dreading this coming Friday when we have to tell him this isn’t going to happen. He really doesn’t like changes in his routine.

School Closures

I know that everyone wants to know why schools aren’t closing yet. But to be honest we need Ethan’s school routine for as long as possible. When Ethan isn’t at school he doesn’t sleep. We can tell he is already unsettled as I have ended up sleeping in his bedroom most nights this week. I have a feeling the school closures will come, it wouldn’t surprise me if it was next week. Until then we will keep calm and carry on.

Limiting Contact With Our Parents

In line with the government guidelines, we have decided to limit contact with our parents. This will be the hardest part but keeping them safe is the most important part.

Can We Work From Home?

I have worked from home since Ethan’s autism diagnosis. The difference now is the team I work for will also be working from home. New procedures will have to be put in place because of this. There will be a bit of a learning curve for us all but I’m glad everyone has been given the option to work from home.

Darren isn’t able to work from home. He has to be out and about for his job. We are sure this virus will have a negative impact on his company. Only time will tell.

Taking Our Temperature

Taking our temperature before we leave the house is now part of our daily routine. This is something else that Ethan is really finding hard as he is scared of the in-ear thermometer. Thankfully we also have a forehead thermometer which helps ease Ethan’s distress of this addition to our routine a little bit.

Self-Isolation

I’m sure there will be some point that we will be in self-isolation. That will be an interesting time for us as a family. Ethan didn’t cope very well when the beast from the east hit but we will get through it.

The Children’s Reactions

Ethan really has no idea what is going on. He is in his own little world and it will only really hit him when we have to explain all of the cancellations. He is already showing signs of being unsettled so he knows something is up. There has been no mention of the virus from him.

Little E, on the other hand, is very aware. I had her in tears the other night for an hour, She was talking about a virus in her school and was she going to die. At five this isn’t something she should be worried about but it is hard to shield her from the news when we are wanting to keep up-to-date with all of the information. I have also noticed the virus mentioned in her play. I find this very sad but I suppose she is trying to work it out in her mind.

How Am I?

I’m trying to keep calm and carry on as best I can. I’m praying that I am making the right decisions for my children and our parents. I am sad that the cancellations have stopped my 40th birthday treat in its tracks. But that is the least of my worries.

I did have a cry myself to sleep moment last night. I realised that I don’t really cuddle my mum day to day and at this moment in time that is all I want to do.

Whoever is reading this I hope you keep as safe as you can during this time.