Beans of Wisdom: Lockdown Week Five

Marital lessons from Babbits & Wisdom from Beans! Just another Lockdown Week!

Hello fellow Quarantinos! I hope this Musing finds you well and good. This week I have attempted to make into a self care week as I realised the weekend was not nearly long enough. Though a week was an ambitious target, since once Monday roles around, there become a lot more things and hats to juggle. Sadly, not much more book reading has happened but I have been absorbing wisdom, some of which has come from my broad bean seedlings! I have managed to meditate five days in a row and am still, running, albeit in my garage every other day. Which is still good (and necessary), since the Family cake of the week is Chocolate and Salted Caramel, which is a bit too yummy.

My first seedling of wisdom came from a quote in meditation 🧘‍♀️ Albert Einstein wrote: “Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.” And truly, it is not a bad thing to take a week and reflect on things, as part of self care. What has counted and what hasn’t counted these last four week? As a sometimes overly ambitious person (just look at you stack of books I had for this period that I still haven’t read yet) I have for the first time in my life managed to step back from the feeling I must work to have worth. Perhaps the vulnerability status has helped shift some perspective into the importance of the role of Mama and Wife. I seem to have plenty of work to do at home anyway. My hoover would like to go on furlough as sometimes it ends up going over the room twice in one day 😱. No such thing as a room staying clean and tidy for even five minutes these days. I am equally sure that if the appliances had a Workers Union - “All In For The Appliances” then the washing machine would also be asking for a furlough as well. Short of all of us going completely naked for a week - no need to panic, I have zero plans to be doing that in the near future (can’t speak for the rest of my family though!), chasing around the Fugitive Babbits in my jammies at 06:30 is embarrassing enough for me anyway. Which was how Saturday morning began, as they had escaped their run Lockdown! The grass is indeed always greener on the other side of the bars but equally love reunites and this time with the added help from a neighbour the Fugitives were detained. The last Fugitive (the Husbun) once recaptured, was firmly out into place by his wife 😆 Even Babbits understand how to maintain a happy home life in Lockdown! But I digress, my washing pile never diminishes, nor the ironing one. I decided in the week that I would pretend to have accomplished the ironing pile after stealthily soldiering through it, if I then didn’t empty the tumble drier, then surely I had no more ironing? 🤪

So different things have counted in this Lockdown Period to those first envisaged. This week the first stage of the Great Garden Grow was completed - huzzah 😃 The Littlest and I have planted out our first seedlings. I wasn’t sure if the overnight temperatures might shock them as much as they keep doing to me (my downstairs Throne Room has no heating; you can almost wee icicles some mornings again 🥶) but so far, our miniature sunflower stems are holding up their little leaves still. Our peas are fast heading towards the garden too. As are our beans, which have also been teaching me their wisdom this week...

Beans, beans, the magical fruit! We planted the broad beans at the end of last week and quite possibly we needed to add a bit more compost; but it has meant we have been able to see their magic unleashing. I have seen that the beans first open up or break and then roots and shoots begin to grow. I felt a bit like I was broken up this week and the beans reminded me that it is often during our most toughest times that we grow, personally and spiritually. This week was challenging; it has had some real lows and some real highs. Mostly I think the previous emotional processing and constant wind changing of the previous week was catching up with me, hence the exhaustion.

There is so much truth in the writing and graphic I have seen on Facebook lately, we are in the same storm but we are not all in the same boat. I hope each and every one of you are managing ok in your proverbial boats; keeping the water out and sailing on as best able. My heart goes out to those who are feeling their boat to be tossed relentlessly in a hurricane and a bit too full of water at the moment.

I decided a little tranquility escape was needed before endeavouring to return to homeschooling on Monday. Though having left the house early after drinking my daily normal coffee ration (which turns out to be 800ml when the Eldest measured it for his homework once 😱) it was not quite as relaxing, to be sat next to flowing water, when you need a pee. Men do not realise how lucky they are, I am not a fan of the alfresco wee and will not partake, it is just too complicated and risky! Still it was beautiful to watch the sunlight flicker and dance amongst the leaves and branches. The usual array of birds visited - blue tits, pigeons, wild tits and a robin - and I watched as a sparrow hopped along various stones to enjoy little drinks of water from the pools made between the rocks. It was nice to be cocooned by the trees and earth; a little bit of natural shielding and grounding from the strange Corona World. On the way home I collected up some wildflowers, so beautiful and colourful, they have inspired me to pick up a paintbrush again soon. It was definitely a much needed escape as we had Mega Meltdown Monday at home with the reluctant return to home schooling. If my Eldest applied the same level of dedication and determination to his school work as he does to Fortnite he could probably have a degree by now!🤦🏽‍♀️

I actually escaped twice this week (shhhh), maybe the Babbits are wiser than assumed. We all need to get out and binky away sometimes. When I start waving the cats paw at neighbours from the window I know I need to get out beyond my garden boundaries 🤪. On Saturday we enjoyed our first Family Walk since Lockdown - woo hoo. Actually I even had a scoot as my Eldest got tired of it. New times, new rules, less inhibiting boundaries, even if just for three hours 😃. My Littlest had painted a colour sheet in the week as she tried water colours. Which then of course turned into water play but never mind. It means she is entertained whilst my Eldest can get his work done. Inspired by the wildflowers, we collected different things for the different colours on our Family Walk. I’ve pressed these so we can stick them to the paper. Family Time definitely counts. Though I have to say I have been surprised by some Durex adverts popping up on my Facebook feed. Do they not know I am in Lockdown with two energetic and full on Childers? I can honestly say no part of any future Corona World baby boom would be even remotely possible!! I still live in hope that one day I might actually get a full nights unbroken sleep again!

I am sure the Childers have added a few extra white hairs on me during this Lockdown but equally they have given me many smiles; the Drama Llama antics of my Eldest and hearing the Littlest sit in the sunshine on the doorstep, happily singing away “Baa baa pink sheep”. It has to be pink and sparkly of course. Just like her new shoes. After observing that she was always going outside shoe less or removing them lately, I had to measure her feet at home and bless her, she had grown a whole size. Thankfully, shoe orders still get through quickly because I will never, ever get her socks clean again. She is an outdoor Lassy, feisty and free spirited. And I have shoe jealousy once more! 😆 She has also discovered a clever and endearing way of getting more chocolate or anything. At the beginning of Lockdown we (by that I mean, mostly me) had to invest a lot of work on getting Little Missy to remember to say “please”. I can report success in persistence! She now says please all the times, except it is always followed by the prompt “nice manners” with a totally angelic expression on her face, that is heart melting!

I have been reflecting on this week about adaptability. I am not a massive fan of change, but we have done this, we have all adapted to our new reality. That said it is still crazy weird at times. I had a delivery during the week and as the Other Half was in a work meeting I answered the door. There stood a youthful and dare I say it quite good looking delivery man holding out his package for me. I stopped dumbfounded, what was I to do? I knew the government has said I must not touch his package. So I stand there staring at the package and thinking, what on earth am I to do? Think, think, think! Eventually I stutter out “Erm, I cannot take the package” and he suggests that he puts it down, excellent idea! 👏🏽🤦🏽‍♀️ Nothing awkward about that at all! Never thought a Legally Blond moment would weave its way into my reality! Hey ho! I’m all for good looking men bringing me packages 😂 Just kidding, married 14 years; love as true as the Babbits! They’ve been married over 4 years I think now, maybe 5! Digressing again. Sorry. Anyhow, it was weird walking near the local parade of shops on Saturday. Popping in for milk or picking up a prescription was such a part of normal life and now I am not allowed to go near the shops. It was eerie but strangely reassuring to see that things do actually still exist out there. Shielding is hard, and life seems to have got quite small lately, so it’s nice to see that the old “normal” is elusively out there still. But for now, it is back to the garden boundaries and the familiar walls of home and hunkering down and getting through it; life is for learning. As always, take care, stay safe and stay sane.