Roaming Towards Myself

How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?

To be honest, I don’t see any lasting changes from Covid affecting me anymore. At the time, like everyone else, I adapted because I had to. Life changed, routines changed, and the world became strange for a while, but now it feels like a chapter I lived through rather than something that still shapes my everyday life.

I never stopped working during Covid because I worked in child protection, so I was allowed to continue. Like a lot of parents, I was also helping homeschool my three boys, and there were definitely moments when the teacher felt like quitting or putting her students on detention.

I remember the weirdness of that time more than anything. Wondering if I was cleaning enough inside my house to keep my sons safe. Watching people buy up toilet paper like extra bowel movements were somehow a side effect of Covid. Reading endless posts from conspiracy theorists. Feeling sad about not knowing when we’d be able to travel again.

I remember getting Covid too, and being very, very sick for a few weeks. And I remember losing my nan to it, not long after she had survived pneumonia. She had just turned 100. That part of it will always stay with me.

But most of all, I remember the fight I took on. I wanted my twin sons to have their Year 12 formal. When the government was allowing public attendance at football games but not allowing school formals to go ahead, the hypocrisy of it felt beyond unfair. So I fought hard. I started a petition, I spoke to every news outlet that wanted to talk, and I kept pushing. In the end, the government overturned its decision.

I’ve always tried to be a good human, and I hope my boys saw through that petition that ordinary people can stand up and fight for something that matters. Sometimes turning a blind eye is its own kind of injustice.
So no, Covid hasn’t left lasting practical changes in my life now. But it did leave memories I won’t forget. The fear, the absurdity, the grief, and the reminder that when something really matters to me, I will fight for it.
This ABC article covered the petition I started: Thousands sign school formal petition after coronavirus ban

Gotta say I think one pandemic in my lifetime is enough🤦‍♀️