Millipedes make terrible pets. They're either
curled up out of reach on the ceiling in the stairwell or dead on the floor. We
tell our toddler they are sleeping.
The woodlice are sleeping too. The snail
with the broken shell is also asleep.
"Wakey! Wakey!" Sol says. But
they do not wake up.
We make millipedes out of egg boxes and name them Milly and Molly. We make them a house out of a cardboard box and feed
them plastic grapes. They fail to thrive. On Day 2 Milly loses her head.
 |
| Milly & Molly pose outside their mansion |
We all nearly lost our heads yesterday when
the news announced that the hotly awaited walk for our children from 27th April had translated into: children will only be allowed out to accompany an adult to the supermarket.
The new ruling was supposed to provide Spain's kids, who have been confined for 6 weeks, some relief. As in fresh air, natural light and space to move. We have a terrace and an empty communal area, but some kids, especially in the cities, have nothing.
How did going to the supermarket count as
getting fresh air? Since when did going to the shop in a car count as getting
exercise? How did letting touchy-feely little kids into a possibly contagious
environment sound like a good idea to anyone?
It was hopeless. There would be no
change on 27th April. We weren't going to take our toddler to a
supermarket. It wouldn't give her or us any relief. She was too little for gloves and
masks. She would be frustrated at not being to explore the aisles or touch anything.
The mums in my Whatsapp group sounded like they had reached the end of their tether. They were crushed, angry... reaching for the wine. Even the calmest were
starting to wobble.
Notices were passed around to bang pots in protest at
19.00 from our balconies.
"It's not official," my husband kept saying.
I echoed his words in my mums' group. I said no one was allowed to panic just yet. Really, I was telling myself.
That evening, the government amended the rule. Children would be allowed out for a walk from the 27th April. There was a huge sense of a relief.
We still don't know what the restrictions will be. We don't know how long they will be allowed out or how far from the house they will be able to walk.
The daydream of going outside as a family
will remain a daydream. It's bound to be one adult per child. That's
fair, considering everyone else who can't leave the house.
I hope people won't
resent kids being allowed out. We were all kids once, and at least as adults we understand what's going on.
Sol doesn't understand.
"One day," I say, when she asks about going to the park, seeing her friends, going up the mountains.
I don't know if it will be me or her papi accompanying her on Sunday. It doesn't matter. What matters is she has a lovely
outing... and if it's not too much to ask, that there are at least some insects awake to say hello on her journey around the
block!
Thanks for reading! You can find me on my Facebook Author Page or on Instagram.
Continue reading blog posts from the Lockdown:
Or, escape the lockdown with a copy of The Hen Party - set in the beautiful island of Mallorca!
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