Day 10 – Back to… home

Another week is starting. We’ve given up on our daily plan, the routines are in place and we’re never too far from each other. Norway decided to increase the number of care days for parents of young kids (from 10 to 20), and that these days could be used when the schools were closed. So we can now reduce our working hours a bit and spend more time helping Timothé and Hugo.

We had a moment of fun at lunch finding absurd translations to ask each other’s help with, like “how do you say ‘I don’t know’ in French”, or “how do you say “shut up” in French”… I guess it was funnier on the moment. At least, it’s a good way to practice English.

After work, Séverine and I worked in the garden, cutting some more branches. We then realized the garden waste disposal was closed, so now we have 15 bags we don’t know what to do with. A rather small issue, really, but a sign that we’re not done unraveling all the consequences of the lock-down.

The day ended with 2 episodes of Zorro – the boys really enjoy that show. I used to love it as a kid. It would broadcast Saturday evenings, in a programme called “Disney channel” – it was before Disney became a channel.

Today, we’ve accepted the fact that our summer holiday would look nothing like we had wished. It’s likely that we will not be able to travel to France, or at least that we won’t be able to decide this before long. So we’ve decided to rent a car for 3 weeks. We can decide at the last minute where we go. But it’s likely that it will be in Norway.

Day 9 – Sunny Sunday

Séverine and I spent most of the day outside, gardening, or rather tidying up the garden. Séverine even went to buy a few plants at a nearby shop.

After lunch, I went with the two boys up Mærradalen. Compared to our morning rides on Thursday and Friday, there were more people. Not crowded, though. But we had to be careful not to get too close to anyone. At one point, Hugo fell and someone went to help him. I was like “no, no, don’t”. Séverine and Sarah went for a walk. Simpler…

Back home, the boys watched “La Grande Vadrouille”, a french classic movie.

The music of the day: Simon and Garfunkel – “Hello darkness my old friend…” But don’t worry, we’re fine. We also listened to the 90’s classic “Rhythm of the nigh” by… Corona.

Day 8 – what’s the future?

We left the house at 10:30 to go on a bike tour, to Lilleaker area. We stopped for a picnic in a park, and went for a bit of shopping, DIY things for the kids, and food for the family. It’s all very stressful, at any time: we have to constantly make sure that we’re not getting too close to anyone, we have to clean our hands. There was not too many people, fortunately. By contrast, home is very relaxing – it was nice to come back!

I started to clean the outdoor table and chairs. Usually the last thing I will do. But here we are, with plenty of time and not much to do.

I had a poetry evening with my friends from Trondheim, on video. And then spent an hour reflecting on what the future would be… I have no idea. It was quite simple to anticipate the pandemic. We knew what was coming. But what comes next is anyone’s guess. How will the economy and the markets cope with a situation that is now quite severe in Europe and in the US? How will that affect us on the long term?

Today’s music was Ed Sheeran’s cover of Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time”

Day 7 – Video party!

Timothé and I went for our daily cycling tour, up Mærradalen. We reached higher today.

It was the last day of the week, of a second crazy week. Work-wise things start to stabilize. Most of our colleagues are back to Norway, they have established plans and routines with their kids. We have adapted our priorities and plans.

Sarah had a piano lesson, with two screens/camera: one on the hands, one on the face. She also had a chat with her main teacher. After a week, these video solutions are working well. It’d good that the kids get to talk to their teachers and instructors, and that they can have some of their normal activities.

We had our traditional Friday pizza for diner. In the evening, Séverine has a video party with friends from Trondheim, and another one with rugby friends. We’re starting to wonder how far we can push this video experiment.

Friday’s music was the Lion King “Naaaants ingonyama bagithi baba…”

Day 6 – It’s been a week

Thursday
Timothé and I started the day with a it of cycling in the Mærradalen, a nice little valley just a few hundred meters from the house. The beck that runs here gives its name to our street.

Workwise, it was a busy day for me, with numerous of video meetings and video chats. It’s quite draining. I’m saying that but I will not complain. We’re lucky – we can work from home, we have plenty of space in the house for everyone, we live in a quiet driveway, the kids can be outside a lot.

Severine took the kids by car to the other side of the city, at Ekeberg Park. It’s good to go out every day, but it’s difficult to find new options, where we know there won’t be too many people.

Timothé had a tuba lesson by video today. Went well!

Music of the day was Amélie Poulain and the melancholic tunes composed by Yann Tiersen.

It’s already been a week since the schools closed. We were surprised how fast it had gone, after all.

Day 5 – Summertime!

Wednesday. Same routine as yesterday. Routine is good, it’s a relief for parents. Everybody was working in the morning.

The weather is nice. It’s still bit cold, but the sun is shining, trees and grass are getting greener, days are getting longer. That’s nice and helpful 🙂

The kids had their first video lesson, for their instrument practice. Hugo started with cello, then Timothé on cello as well, and finally Sarah on the violin. They also watch a live guided tour of the Bergen aquarium, and of the Oslo reptile park.

They all went for a walk while I was wrapping up my work day. I took a bike tour later, on my own, to get some fresh air.

Music of the day was Porgy and Bess, sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Legendary. Feels like having a nice lunch outside in the shadow of a huge tree, on a nice and sunny spring day… Or even at summertime, may be.