Slow Down by Anna Kingston

Four and a half weeks of no school, four weeks into lockdown, mostly living in scruffs or pyjamas, yet I find myself more content and calmer than I’ve been in such a long time, even when I’m doing the routine stuff like laundry or food shopping.  

Queuing to go into the supermarket is mindful in an odd way: those few minutes of slowly walking and then stopping are moments of being aware of the weather around you, sounds of nature, and the quiet voices of fellow shoppers. Combined with fewer people inside the shop, I don’t dread food shopping as I did before.

There is more peace in our home with the absence of the stresses of clock-watching, rushing here and there, and doing “stuff”. My children are relaxed, even though Fortnite or Roblox tend to dominate their waking hours! We’re getting to know each other all over again, we’re baking and cooking properly again, and doing more walking. This absence of “stuff” isn’t as distressing as I expected, or maybe I’ve got used to it fairly quickly. Rather, I find that the long days we now have are allowing me to reset myself, to truly discover what I like and want to do, and giving me (mostly) uninterrupted time in which to write, make art, and think.

I love going into the garden early in the morning with a cuppa, the cat winding herself around my ankles, and really hearing the world wake up. I enjoy how my garden changes through the day, from those early, still-cool mornings, to the height of the sun at midday, warming the stones and grass, and all the way through to the stillness of the evening.

There are bumps in the road, obviously, and some of them may be permanent (I worry about about our finances, for instance), but the changed landscape of my life is providing me with pause, reset, and re-boot buttons, and I intend to take full advantage of this gift of a real slow-down and stocktake, and I hope that I’m not the only one.