Dancing and laughter with my daughter in lockdown

The Student has gone back to the big city to resume her life before her final year at uni and following lockdown spent with us. The last few months have been viewed by her as either a) Being trapped with the two most annoying people on Earth for an interminable length of time after three years’ freedom or b) Enjoying a welcome break from the responsibilities and chaos of student flat-sharing, with added home comforts.

She’s swithered between the two views, depending on her wildly fluctuating moods. For us parents, it’s now a case of getting used to the empty nest again after an unexpected period of full-on family time and a chance to reflect on the highs and lows of lockdown with our grown-up daughter.

Things I’ll miss: Dancing – either in the kitchen, being whirled around to cheesy old tunes on the radio, or our DIY ‘dancercise’ sessions, where we’d put on our favourite music and cavort madly in the hope that it would count as exercise. It always ended in hopeless laughter. Laughing until we’re almost sick – following on from the above, it’s not just the wild dancing that would have us in stitches.

There are certain things that would make no sense to anyone else which set us both off into uncontrollable giggling and often crying with laughter.

Watching films and crying together at all sad/ happy/anything really bits.

Games – having someone willing to endure the playing of endless Scrabble, card games and crosswords with her needy mother.

Being spoilt -– it’s lovely when your grown-up child offers you a cup of tea just when that’s exactly what you need.

Also, it’s lovely to share cooking with someone who’s turned into a better cook than me.

Things I won’t miss: Towels – she used at least four per shower then put them straight in the laundry. What’s that all about? Similarly, cups and glasses. How were there always so many stacked in her room? Er, that’s it really.

So, time for me and Mr P to regroup and try not to go feral, which we have a tendency to do quite quickly once we’re home alone without supervision.

“It’s now a case of getting used to the empty nest again