Term 4 2022
I can’t believe the last term of the school year started on Monday, complete with spring/summer uniforms, warm weather, and a hint of a hot summer to come. This year has flown by, probably because this year the kids were more or less in class on school grounds - something that hasn’t happened the past couple of years. I went back to my Start of Term 4 post from 2021 to reread what was going on a year ago at this time. We were in the middle of our longest covid lockdown and unsure what the rest of the school year would look like for kids in Auckland. I was deep into homeschooling and relieved that I didn’t have the agonising choice between sending kids to school or keeping our covid risk as low as possible. Rereading that post made me realize that my ongoing joke that this blog is my therapy still rings true.
But a lot of things have changed in a year. Most of the world - including New Zealand - has collectively decided to stop focusing on covid. Masks are sporadically worn and everything is reopened with no restrictions. There aren’t covid tests to travel or movement tracking to help contact tracers.
It feels like people are trying to make up for lost time in 2022. The demand for travel is through the roof especially since the airlines aren’t back at capacity. All sorts of events and shows that were cancelled due to covid lockdowns and border closures have been rescheduled, and it feels like they’re all rescheduled at the same time. And we are making up for lost extra curricular and social activities. The amount of things the kids want to do this spring is astonishing. We’ve got gymnastics, violin, sailing, cricket, hip-hop, as well as a long list of assorted parties and get togethers to attend. People are throwing Halloween parties - and Halloween isn’t a big holiday here like it is in the US. People are excited to be able to get together and are looking for any excuse to do so. To say that I’m exhausted looking at the upcoming eight weeks of the school year is an understatement. We’re going to need a long summer break to recover from this mad dash of excitement.
I’m curious - if you’re in the US (or elsewhere) did you have this same phenomenon of people breaking free and letting loose? It so, when? How long did it last? (How long should i plan to pace myself?) If you’re in New Zealand, are you experiencing the same thing, or am I living in a quirky bubble?
