This is bringing it all back, Kathryn, as my son was the same school year as Jackson. I remember sitting with him and his Year 13 friends watching Boris Johnson on the news, and the mixed emotions as they realised they wouldn't be returning to school to finish the year. There was no jubilation at the thought of no exams, just dismay. As you say, they were worried about what it meant for their university plans, their futures, everything. And no chance to mark the end of their school years.
Memories of dropping him off at university in the midst of the pandemic that autumn, where of course, they all came down with Covid within a fortnight, because who was seriously expecting locked-down freshers not to mix in their halls of residence?!
Other vivid memories of not being able to see my parents, or my aunt in the nursing home, or my adult daughters in London.
I do think the younger generations have proved very resilient. I'm so sorry Jackson's not here.
Thank you so much, Wendy. I very much appreciate you taking the trouble to respond. I expected very few people to either Like or Comment... and lo verily it has come to pass. One of the upsides of not charging for my 'stack is of course that I can please myself, so losing a few subscribers is not a problem; I'm certainly shedding a few this week! And yes, I'm also very impressed by the youngster's resilience. More on them soon...
Fabulous articles. Thank you for sharing them and Wendy for restacking the post.
I'm Australian and was living in regional Victoria in 2020. You've heard about it, I'm sure. Our sons were then Year 9 and 11, and school was via Microsoft Teams for 2 terms. They were isolated from friends, but they managed well and we all knew we were better off than anyone living in Melbourne at that time.
Come 2021, my eldest son was Year 12 and boarding, while the rest of us moved interstate, with prolonged border closures with Victoria. That meant that when the school closed several more times throughout the year, two times he was housed by generous parents of boarding friends, and the final time my husband crossed the border to give our son some sense of stability in the lead up to his final exams. We were lucky. We got through it unscathed. My humblest condolences for your loss.
Thank you so much — greatly appreciated. And yes, I was very conscious of what was going on in Australia; both my parents were Aussies and my brother lives in QLD. When he had to collect my mother from NSW and bring her home to live with him (after her stroke in 2020 — she lived just a couple more months) they had a terrible time crossing the border... unbelievably stressful. Anyway, my youngest son has been in Melbourne since January and I'm not sure he will ever want to leave...
My apologies, that was insensitive of me; you did mention your Mother. I never would have imagined that Australia would become so literally divided. Wishing your son all the best for his time in Melbourne, and to you, for everything.
This is bringing it all back, Kathryn, as my son was the same school year as Jackson. I remember sitting with him and his Year 13 friends watching Boris Johnson on the news, and the mixed emotions as they realised they wouldn't be returning to school to finish the year. There was no jubilation at the thought of no exams, just dismay. As you say, they were worried about what it meant for their university plans, their futures, everything. And no chance to mark the end of their school years.
Memories of dropping him off at university in the midst of the pandemic that autumn, where of course, they all came down with Covid within a fortnight, because who was seriously expecting locked-down freshers not to mix in their halls of residence?!
Other vivid memories of not being able to see my parents, or my aunt in the nursing home, or my adult daughters in London.
I do think the younger generations have proved very resilient. I'm so sorry Jackson's not here.
Thank you so much, Wendy. I very much appreciate you taking the trouble to respond. I expected very few people to either Like or Comment... and lo verily it has come to pass. One of the upsides of not charging for my 'stack is of course that I can please myself, so losing a few subscribers is not a problem; I'm certainly shedding a few this week! And yes, I'm also very impressed by the youngster's resilience. More on them soon...
Love your honesty, Kathryn, and have always enjoyed your writing, whatever the topic.
Fabulous articles. Thank you for sharing them and Wendy for restacking the post.
I'm Australian and was living in regional Victoria in 2020. You've heard about it, I'm sure. Our sons were then Year 9 and 11, and school was via Microsoft Teams for 2 terms. They were isolated from friends, but they managed well and we all knew we were better off than anyone living in Melbourne at that time.
Come 2021, my eldest son was Year 12 and boarding, while the rest of us moved interstate, with prolonged border closures with Victoria. That meant that when the school closed several more times throughout the year, two times he was housed by generous parents of boarding friends, and the final time my husband crossed the border to give our son some sense of stability in the lead up to his final exams. We were lucky. We got through it unscathed. My humblest condolences for your loss.
Thank you so much — greatly appreciated. And yes, I was very conscious of what was going on in Australia; both my parents were Aussies and my brother lives in QLD. When he had to collect my mother from NSW and bring her home to live with him (after her stroke in 2020 — she lived just a couple more months) they had a terrible time crossing the border... unbelievably stressful. Anyway, my youngest son has been in Melbourne since January and I'm not sure he will ever want to leave...
My apologies, that was insensitive of me; you did mention your Mother. I never would have imagined that Australia would become so literally divided. Wishing your son all the best for his time in Melbourne, and to you, for everything.
Not insensitive at all - and no need to apologise. But yes re the divisiveness!
And my son is looking forward to the F1 landing at the end of his street at the weekend! 🙌 🏎️
Haha, hope he enjoys the spectacle and the noise. I used to live in Williamstown and it was LOUD, all the way across the bay!