Our latest family in the ‘Lockdown around the world’ series is Samantha from Australia. Samantha and her family were in lockdown for 12 weeks. She shares her family’s experience of life in lockdown in Australia, the challenges and the triumphs. From homeschooling her three daughters, to running her successful business. Follow Samantha on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/iamsamanthadonovan/.

Life in lockdown in Australia by Samantha

It was the afternoon of Sunday March 15, 2020. A usual Sunday afternoon in the Donovan household. The girls had started complaining that it was Sunday and they had school the next day. Then the text message alert and an email came through. A parent at the girls’ school had tested positive for COVID-19 so whilst no students showed any symptoms, the school had taken the precautionary measure of closing the school for the following day.

One day of no school, I could cope with that. 

They’d be back at school Tuesday for the last 2 weeks of term one and then be on holidays.

Monday afternoon March 16.  We received an email update. The school had made the decision to move to a remote learning model for all students commencing THE NEXT DAY.

What? Are you kidding? I’m not a teacher. I am a ‘retired’ senior finance professional who now runs her own online health & wellness business. No education background AT ALL. How on earth am I supposed to deliver a comprehensive, structured online learning program AND run my business?

My head was spinning. How long would we be in this situation for? Surely just the last 2 weeks of term one? Then the girls would return to face-to-face learning after the Easter holidays. How wrong could I be!

My husband was still working in his corporate banking role in the city, so I was going to have to work out how to manage our 3 girls (Imogen 12, Eliza 10 and Penelope 8) by myself. First point of call was to my Mum. Mum is a retired teacher, so I asked her to be there at 9am Tuesday morning to assist. She could ‘teach’ Penelope and I would take responsibility for the other 2 girls.

Those 2 weeks really are a blur. Trying to juggle the girls learning whilst keeping my business going during one of the busiest periods I have experienced in my 5 years of running my own business, was a challenge to say the least.

Day 2 of home learning brought another challenge for our family when my husband’s office was abruptly shut down due to a reported COVID-19 case.  So now we had 2 parents working from home and 3 girls online learning. OMG what a challenge it was.

Our internet capacity was tested, our food bill doubled, our dog has never been so happy to have so much attention, our dishwasher got a daily workout and our house suddenly seemed soooooo small. Little did we know at this time, this would be our life for the next 12 weeks.

Throughout the 10 weeks of online learning, I could not have been more impressed with our girls’ school. The communication was fantastic and the teachers were angels.  Much time and effort went into daily classes but there was a healthy mix of fun, learning and also time for mindfulness – as the teachers said to us “we just want the girls to come out the other side with a strong mindset”. 

But it was HARD. Keeping the girls motivated to learn and also active was a real challenge. All their extra-curricular activities such as dancing and gym were moved to online video lessons whilst some things, like netball, just stopped completely. Whilst I am grateful these activities could continue to run, it just wasn’t quite the same experience for the girls. Not only did they miss their school friends, but they also missed their friends from all these activities. 

Holidays in Lockdown

The 2 weeks holidays couldn’t come quick enough for us all. We all needed a break.

But the holidays and Easter looked very different as well.  For as long as I can remember we have always spent Good Friday and Easter Sunday with either my family or my husband’s family. Good Friday fish & chips with the 5 of us seemed very quiet compared to our usual big fish and chip family lunch. And the Easter Sunday morning egg hunt just wasn’t quite the same with the Easter Bunny trying to find hiding places inside our home rather than the vast expanse of my parents-in-law’s house at the beach. School holiday play dates and holiday sports day camps were abandoned, and replaced with Lego, trampolining, walks, family movie nights, Just Dance on x-box and of course some Roblox. With a healthy mix of an argument a day on whose turn it was to choose the movie, what the Lego theme would be, who got to use the computer versus the iPad for Roblox and many other topics that I didn’t even know you could argue about!

What was your biggest challenge during lockdown in Australia?

One of the biggest challenges during isolation has been not going to parks, beaches etc, and enjoy the beautiful outdoor lifestyle that we all love. When #isolife started in Australia we were still experiencing fabulous weather. We were coming out of summer and entering autumn and the weather was still glorious – even in Melbourne where we live. I think the amazing outdoor life we live in Australia was probably something most of us took for granted pre-isolation and something we all missed during the school holidays.

When term two started we realised that online remote learning was here to stay for a while. My husband and I slowly got our heads around and put strategies in place to assist. Despite being parents who never allowed technology or homework to be done in the girls’ bedrooms, these rules had to be relaxed if we were going to survive this new way of life. Each girl got a desk in their room and daily online classes we completed sitting at them – or sometimes laying on their beds, hey whatever gets you through right!

My husband took over my office as he had many more zoom video meetings than I did and needed the separate space. I was relegated to the family computer in the main living area for my work and we somehow juggled it. We tried to both be there for the girls during the school day, but, because my business time can fit in around my family time, I was the one who managed the learning for the first month.  It was a juggle to say the least. 

Then my husband, who had resigned from his job pre COVID-19, finished up at work at the beginning May. Both a blessing and a worry at the same time. A blessing because now he could take full responsibility for the girls learning, the washing, food shopping, cooking etc, but a worry because let’s be honest trying to find a senior management role during these times was going to be a challenge.

What have you learnt from Lockdown?

But isolation has taught us a great lesson as a family. You can never take life or lifestyle for granted. 

My husband had not enjoyed his role for quite a few months. He was exhausted, burnt out and mentally drained. He held a senior strategy role in a bank here in Australia and along with it came a decent pay cheque. But as I learnt 4 years prior when I stepped away from my 25 year finance career, life is not all about the title we hold, the pay cheque we earn, the company we work for or the education we have had. Life is about creating joy, choice and connection. 

Lockdown Silver Linings

Isolation has given us many silver linings. 

1. Our 3 girls have re-connected as sisters.  Previously they were always yearning for play dates with friends, but this time has ‘forced’ them to find joy in creating moments with each other. 
2. Family dinners became the norm.  Previously family meals have been limited to weekends due to the girls after school activities.  This time has allowed us to get to know the girls so much better and also improve their table manners!
3. Work hours have been far more productive. The juggle of online learning and building my business required a new level of time blocking. 
4. Hugging friends and family is no longer seen as ‘required’, but rather a necessity to bring joy and connection to our day to day life.
5. Working on my personal growth and my mindset is a non-negotiable.  I make time for reading and it has become a pleasure again.
6. My business has flourished during isolation. It taught me new ways of working, connecting and building. It reminded me that my business is about helping and serving others.
7. Social media can be used for ‘good’. Isolation allowed me to explore new connections with people over social media. This was something I avoided in the past because I felt they were not genuine. But oh, how I was wrong.  These platforms have given me the opportunity to connect with other working mums and also bereaved parents. My life journey as a working mum and a mum who lost her first child to stillbirth almost 14 years ago has allowed me to connect with some beautiful people. I hope that by sharing my experiences I can help create supportive communities that bring advice, joy inspiration and connection to others.

Life after lockdown

As restrictions are slowly eased here in Australia and my 3 girls return to face-to-face learning, it has given me time to reflect on the year 2020 so far. You know ‘hindsight is 20/20’ is a proverb that means it is easy to understand something after it has already happened. Perhaps, on reflection, the greatest gift in isolation has been just that. I now understand the need for my family to slow down, stop and smell the roses and remember what is truly important. Joy, choice and connection.

Life in Lockdown around the world

For more families stories in lockdown from around the world follow my Life in Lockdown series.