‘I don’t want to go back to the way I was living before’
Belfast business owner Orla Keating runs a coffee shop which has been closed since lockdown started 10 weeks ago. She is at home alone with her seven-year-old son, Elliott.
As well as home-schooling Elliott and keeping him entertained, Orla (38) has been using her time during lockdown to launch a new business offering social media support to businesses and running her very successful diversity storytelling group, ‘Still I Rise’.
Having been used to long hours running the Boden Coffee Company on Belfast’s Ormeau Road, she says she has had a huge “awakening” since work stopped and she has been at home with her son 24-7.
She says: “For me, it has been a really good opportunity to reset and reassess and look at the way I had been living my life.
“I don’t want to go back to the way I was living before lockdown, which was a mad rush and involved putting Elliott in childcare.
“I have never been a present parent because of work and now that I have been forced to be present with Elliott for 10 weeks, I don’t want to go back to the way I was living before.”
Like Gayle, Orla has found that a daily routine has been the best way through the long days of lockdown, with schooling scheduled from 9am until 2pm.
Coming up with ideas for keeping her son occupied after lessons has also been her biggest challenge and a garden obstacle course has served its purpose in her garden, too.
She says: “We used old planks and garden chairs to create an obstacle course which helps Elliott to burn up energy and he has really enjoyed it.
“I’m not keen on spending money to keep a child busy, but we did discover jumping clay, which Elliott absolutely loves and it keeps him focused every day for an hour.
“I’m not a natural cook or baker, but we have been baking together and that’s been good for mental maths and keeping Elliott
busy. We are now baking so much that we deliver what we make to neighbours, which also takes up about an hour.
“Elliott is half Belgian, so he has been learning French during lockdown. I put his tablet on French and we’ve watched DVDS in French and he has been doing a lot of video calls with family in Belgium.”
Orla has also been devising treasure hunts in the garden, with clues for Elliott to find hidden treats.
Other outdoor activities to keep him occupied have including trying to find leaves from 10 different plants.
After spending her day with Elliott, she tries to find a couple of hours each evening to work on new projects which she hopes to develop further when lockdown is lifted.
Orla says: “My diversity story telling group, which I launched a few months ago, has really blown up and we are now doing two a week through Zoom and have people from England, Portugal and America, as well as local parents and kids taking part.
“I am also working on developing a social media support business as a social enterprise project, which I am really enjoying.
“I’m not sure after lockdown what the future will bring, but I do plan to ensure that whatever I do, I will have more time at home with Elliott rather than rushing out to work for long hours every day.”