The lost years, accidentally muted

As this situation drags on, it's becoming more apparent that we are in a way losing two whole years of what we might refer to as normal life.

Lockdowns, home-based learning, the inability to eat out as a family coupled with the stress of infections, vaccinations, rising and falling numbers, back-to-back Zoom calls. 2020 and 2021 have been challenging. I am really in no position to complain as there are many around the world who lost loved ones, have had to be hospitalised and are currently suffering due to medical crises in their countries - so this term is obviously very relative.

We've gotten to see some of the parks we've never had a chance to go to

Each generation has its own version of childhood, a growing up experience which is probably drastically different from the one before. No more kampong gatherings, chasing chickens, playing hide-in-seek in the longkang, climbing trees and catching grasshoppers - those were things we used to do (yes, I'm very old). And even though we want the same experiences for our children, those days are really over - we live in a clean disinfected society, an urban lab where these activities would likely be frowned upon or even outlawed.

But the current generation, in their formative years, has been cursed with this two (hopefully that's it) year disruption of the virus. They will grow up to be socially distant, but technologically proficient, occasionally accidentally muted. They've missed school camps, graduation parties, outdoor activities and the like, only to be replaced by digital faces in squares on the screen.

I learned a new word recently, reframe. To look at a situation (or experience) that might be negative through a different perspective. And I believe there are plus points, such as the greater appreciation of social connections (which we've been taking for granted), the growth of closer family bonds between parents and children and the evolution of the educational ecosystem.