To my children,
These are the strangest of times, they feel like a dream to me, sometimes a nightmare, fortunately we are all healthy and safe. To me these days hold so many paradoxes, so many opposing realities, they feel like extreme closeness to you three and to your Dad, and at the same time extreme distance from everyone else we care about… extreme closeness in our common humanity with the rest of the planet living through this surreal time, at the same time as extreme physical distance from friends and neighbours as we say “How are you?” from 2m away, or from across a screen…
I’ve been trying to compile a diary of sorts, it’s a real mixed bag of phone and camera photographs. My only aim was to capture a small piece of beauty each day, that we could be thankful for despite everything going on.
I can’t help but wonder what these days will feel like to you or how you will remember them. Although you more or less understand what’s going on, and you know we are trying our best to help our grandparents, to talk to them often, to help our elderly neighbours, to help drawing pictures for those who are sick, donating food for those who are less fortunate than us, clapping for all the NHS doctors and nurses who are risking their lives to help the sick people….
I think that mostly you will remember this as that time that we spent soooooo much time together as a family, and you have all embraced that with all your hearts! Never have we shared so many meal-times and playtimes, exercise times and quiet times, bath times, nap-times, even FaceTimes….
I do wonder sometimes how it has taken all of this to happen, for us to really embrace the value of thoughtful human connection, precisely now that it has been largely taken away from us…. yet another paradox of these times.
Learning to think about others, sending a face mask to Grandma because there are none left in Spain...
My musical one, you are always at the piano, for hours a day…!
My daydreamer, we are grateful for all the stories and magical adventures you create in your head!
And the joy of the house!
Love is to all pile up on the same corner of the sofa to watch a movie…
Artifact motherhood is a collaboration of artists and mothers from around the world. Sharing stories of the joys and struggles of our journey. Our hopes and dreams for our children. With little nuggets of wisdom here and there. These are more than photographs with dates written on the back. These are the artifact we are leaving behind for children and the generations to come. Continuing the blog circle, next up is my wonderful friend Caro.
To learn more about Artifact Motherhood please visit our website.