Why Carrie Bickmore is already missing iso
In the wake of lockdown restrictions being lifted, Carrie Bickmore opens up about how her family adjusted to a slower pace of life and why she is hoping some of the new habits she learned during isolation sticks.
Stellar
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Lockdown taught me how to say no. Actually, that’s not strictly true. It gave me the best excuse to say no, and now I’m desperately trying to hang on to my newfound superpower.
I have always been prone to FOMO and FOLPD. Haven’t heard of FOLPD?
Yeah, it’s not as catchy as FOMO, but it’s a popular acronym in my household. It stands for Fear Of Letting People Down.
See, I have always said yes to everyone and everything, and hated the feeling of missing out or disappointing someone. Breakfast with friends, brunch with the cousins, dinner with the girls... we can squeeze that all in on a Sunday.
And squeeze it all in we did, along with kids’ footy, tennis, ballet, swimming, golf, birthday parties, exercise and shopping. We signed up for everything and would spend our weekends buzzing from one activity to the next.
I love people, love my work and love having things to look forward to. But at what cost? How often do we say yes and stretch ourselves so thin at the expense of those closest to us? How often do we unknowingly put the contentment of our own household second?
Like many people, lockdown cramped my style at first. But weirdly, as time went on, I felt lighter. The forced isolation created space in our days and gave my family the chance to reconnect. To finish conversations as well as projects.
It wasn’t without its challenges. In fact, with online schooling, working from home more, no sport or activities for the kids and no friends to catch up with, it was all pretty full-on. But we adjusted, and I think this new normal suits our family better.
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It turns out my kids are real homebodies, and I am getting better at it, too. I finally painted my front door, relearnt piano (briefly and not well), cooked more, ate lots and cooked some more.
We played board games, drew, watched family movies, taught Evie to ride without training wheels, cleaned out cupboards, read more and went to bed early. God knows how I’ll ever stay out past 8.30pm again.
But as restrictions ease, I notice us falling back into old habits. We are so excited to see everyone again that our weekends are quickly filling up – and I’m back to scheduling like a maniac.
I have spoken to so many friends who are already missing the iso bubble. A lot of people developed a deeper sense of connection to friends and family, finding creative ways to express their love.
The unifying experience provided a collective blanket across all our relationships. But that blanket has been lifted, and it’s time to decide what bits we want to take with us post-lockdown and what parts of our life are superfluous.
For me, it’s about noticing when our home feels more like a hotel or when our car is sitting like a valet waiting for the next outing when it should stay tucked away in the garage.
Carrie co-hosts The Project, 6.30pm weeknights on Network 10, and Carrie & Tommy, 3pm weekdays on the Hit Network.