The Wonder of a Child

The second lockdown in Victoria has been especially tough. During the first lockdown, despite the uncertainty there was a sense of optimism that we would be out of the woods soon - the daily case numbers were relatively low, there were unexpected blessings from families being home together for an extended period of time. Nearly everyday I was cooking as if I were on Masterchef, Krystin was baking and was on her sourdough journey (which I dubbed her third baby) & Noah was just thrilled to be spending time with us.

However, the second lockdown has been one of greater indifference. We don’t know what day it is. Most meals are no longer made with intention and flair, but rather convenience and necessity. The sourdough starter is no longer fed, and is like an abandoned pet. Noah, being a big-hearted little extrovert, misses family and his friends and going to school. It’s difficult to know what the end game will be, and when we’ll return to some semblance of moving around again in the outside world.

But as the grey weeks mainly spent indoors go by, watching our children grow up has been truly wonderful. The beautiful thing about children is their ability to be excited about the same thing again and again. If you don’t already know, Noah loves trains. He now understands that his mum’s job has something to do with trains and Krystin explained what a level crossing is, so he keeps pointing them out and building them when he plays with his tracks.

And every time we venture out to go watch trains - even though it’s the same bench we sit on, the same rusty train tracks we see - he never fails to get excited and find joy when a train passes by. He never stops waving to the drivers and hoping they wave back. Watching the excitement on his face and wonder in his eyes is such a joy and a much needed reprieve from the mundanity of being in lockdown. I once said to a friend that sometimes I’m envious of couples without kids during the lockdowns - and the Netflix & chilling they must be doing! But times like this, I look at our lives and think - it’s a truly wonderful place to be.

There’s something that as parents we can learn from our children. To be excited about the little things. To find joy in the things we love, especially those that have integrated into the rhythm of our lives.

Shot on Portra 400 on a Pentax 67 with 105mm.