Written in the Midst of Lockdown. These days have never been seen before. We had no rehearsed pathway of what we should do and how we should live. We were told to use technology, but technology failed to create ways to secure food and earn an income. Some days there was an overwhelming sense of powerless particularly before the peak when the numbers continued to rise exponentially. We were told to stay at home and weeks alone with no-one to talk was had its challenges. I got out a crochet hook and decided to craft and decorate the window that faces the outside world to communicate visually. A Rainbow of Hope, an NHS sign, an NHS hero teddy wearing its mask started the display. We had an Easter in lockdown so I added an Easter bunny and egg and a lion for bravery. It became a way of creating interest for children who passed by on their daily exercise walk and they would often pause and look to see what was new in the window. The display was a message to the ambulance workers whose base is on the same road that we are thinking of them as they bravely face the most unimaginable challenge of removing sick people to hospital who were saying goodbye to their families not knowing if they would ever see their loved ones again. There is now a crocheted sunflower in the window to complement the actual sunflower seeds planted in the garden to remember that there will be brighter days ahead and when the plants grow tall and smile in the sunshine, the sunflowers will commemorate those who have lost their life in this epidemic.
This is a moment when Stockton residents have stopped the frantic pace of life, the CO2 levels dropped and mankind and nature has taken a deep breath. It has been a time of connecting in a different way with neighbours and caring and helping in a team effort to get through this together. We have joined in celebration with Captain Tom as he raised over £30 million and celebrated his 100th birthday and he reminded us of the wartime spirit and told us that ‘tomorrow will be better’. Whilst this has undoubtedly been a time of death and loss and sorrow, it is also been a time of renewal, restoration, and revival. Stockton may not look the same at the end of this and for some businesses there may be a point of no return which will be a sad loss to our High Streets and way of life. Perhaps we will see new enterprises blossom from ideas that had time to incubate in lockdown. I trust this season teaches us to change finance structures to pay those health and social care and key workers what they are worth and not view them as low wage citizens. They were the army that waged war against an unseen enemy with no training and preparation and not even the right kit. We would never do that to a soldier in the army and should not have not done that to health and social care workforce. Clapping for them on a Thursday evening was easy from our doorsteps but we want to see something lasting and of significance going forwards or we will have failed them twice over.
What we hope our children learn from this experience is that we kept them safe and we gave them time to play and create and dream. We gave them extra time and attention as parents and carers to answer questions and model lives that weren’t compromised by the usual high levels of stress from work and school. We watched them bake and garden and cook and paint and play and make music and do online learning and realise the things that matter in life and how precious the gift of life is.
This has been the ultimate learning curve for individuals, towns and communities and as a nation. It is anticipated that the ‘new normal’ for some people is a decision not to return to what was but to enact those dreams that came out of the time and space they had to think and breathe. Hopefully this season gives each of us a thirst for living fully, generously and creatively and inclusively with our family, friends and neighbours who we will see up close and take time to share a cup of tea with when this shutdown comes to an end. Let us continue to wait patiently and with good grace in lockdown in our homes and neighbourhoods in Stockton so we call all stay safe and can meet again on the other side of COVID19.
Image Credit: Maria Catterick