(Continued from Quarantine Diary of a One-Year-Old (Part 2)

A TELEPHONE CALL

4 May 2020, Monday

Sophia at 19 months

Mummy is going to the toilet so I follow her, but it is dark in the hallway so I just lean my head on mummy’s bum so I don’t get lost. Mummy flicks the light on in the bathroom and says, Close the door Sophia, and I close the door and sit on the rug next to the bath and I hear mummy let out a big sigh. I wait while mummy sits on the toilet but I see my toys on the floor so I play with them but mummy keeps saying, Don’t put that in your mouth it’s dirty, but I don’t know why they’re dirty when they’re just lying around there.

Mummy gives me spaghetti with some sausages while I sit on my high chair, not like the chair that they sit on. Mummy is in the kitchen sink but I don’t have my cutlery and I’m asking for my cutlery but mummy says, Wait please, but I keep waiting and I’m tired of waiting so I lift my plate to show mummy that I don’t have cutlery to use but the plate drops on the floor and the spaghetti noodles and the sausages fly out of the plate and mummy screams and picks up the spaghetti noodles and the sausages and she starts crying and I try to tell her, Mummy they’re just sausages you don’t have to cry, but she doesn’t seem to listen. She stands up and cries more by the kitchen while I eat my spaghetti with the cutlery from mummy.

At bedtime, mummy reads me Look There’s a Submarine and I point to the fish and mummy says, Fish, and I point to the octopus and mummy says, Octopus, and I point to another fish with a big cheek and mummy says, Blowfish, then mummy stops reading and picks up her mobile and says, Hello how are you, and I look at the book while I drink my milk while mummy’s on her mobile. Mummy keeps saying, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry to hear that, and mummy looks sad and she has her hand on her mouth and she looks really sad, so I just close the book and pull up the blankie to my face because it looks like mummy is going to be talking on her mobile for a while. Mummy says, It should be over soon, They said we’ve reached the peak so the lockdown should be lifted soon. I wonder who’s they and my milk bottle is empty so I shove it aside and I stay under the blankie because it’s nice and cosy. Mummy peeks into my blankie but I’m too tired to say anything and mummy is still on her mobile, and I think I’m falling asleep.

WHY IS THE ICE CUBE COLD | WAITING BY THE FRONT DOOR

5 May 2020, Tuesday

I wake up and ask daddy for milk then he comes back with my bottle of milk. Daddy and mummy sleep while I drink my milk. I finish my milk and see my medicine syringe standing on the bedside table so I wake up daddy and ask for my medicine but daddy says, It’s not time yet, but I want my medicine now then daddy looks at his mobile and he shrugs and gives me my medicine. Yummy!

I play with daddy in the living room but I miss mummy already so I go to the bedroom and wake mummy up. She asks for morning kiss so I give her morning kiss. She asks for morning hug so I give her morning hug. Mummy looks happy and gets up but she says she needs the toilet, so I join her in the toilet while I play with the tissue roll, then mummy asks for tissue and I give her some tissue then she asks for more so I give her more, but I keep the roll with me because I can’t give mummy too much tissue.

Mummy is talking to daddy about food and mummy opens the freezer which I can reach, not the fridge above it which I can’t reach and I always ask mummy to lift me so I can reach the fridge but she grumbles every time and puts me down. Mummy gets a box from the freezer but I see a tray of ice cubes so I stop mummy from closing the freezer. Mummy helps me with the ice cubes in the living room. She places a towel underneath the tray and says I can only play on the towel. I wonder why. I open the kitchen cupboard and pick up a spoon and a cup and I mix the ice cubes with the banana that mummy gave me and I scoop up the banana and it’s cold and nice and yummy!

Mummy is busy on her computer so I check out what daddy is doing in the bedroom but daddy won’t let me in because he says he’s setting up his workstation which gets me more curious but he won’t let me in and mummy hears us talking and says, Daddy is busy today, and she carries me but I see Penguin in the bedroom and daddy gives me Penguin and closes the door after he gives me and mummy each a kiss.

In the kitchen, mummy’s back on her computer so I sit on the chair next to her but I see a random ice cube on the floor and I say, Oh no, and mummy asks, Do you want to pick it up, and I say, Ya. The ice cube keeps falling and I keep picking it up but it becomes smaller and smaller every time. Mummy picks up the ice cube and slides it inside my shirt and mummy laughs but I don’t know what’s funny but something inside my shirt is tickling me.

The Wiggles is on the telly and mummy starts dancing and asks me to join but I have better things to do so I ask mummy to lift me up and she opens the fridge and I point at the stuff in the fridge. I point at butter and mummy says, Butter, then I point at a carton and mummy says, Custard, and I point at the bottles at the bottom of the butter and the custard and mummy says, Juice, Wine, Calamansi juice, Peri-peri sauce, Mayonnaise, Jalapeno, Worcestershire sauce, Banana ketchup, then at the other stuff and she says, Yogurt, Grapes, Tomatoes, Beer.

I ask mummy to follow me in the hallway, down to the front door where my buggy is parked then I sit at the bottom of the buggy and I ask mummy to sit next to me and I let out a big sigh because I’m tired. I know we can’t go out of the door so we just sit there for a while looking at my shoes and mummy’s shoes.

Lola is calling on the mobile and mummy puts her thumb on the mobile and then I see Lola on the screen. Lola says, Hello Sophia, so I put the mobile on my ear and say, Hi, and I speak to Lola for a long time just like mummy talking on the mobile on her ear.

Daddy enters the living room and I shout, Yay, because it means daddy is not busy anymore and I can play with him. He throws a red ball on the floor and I pick it up and I throw it in the hallway and it stops and sits at the bottom of the bathroom door and I say, Oh no, What’s the matter? But the ball is not responding to me so I go back to the living room but I look back at the red ball sitting at the bottom of the bathroom door and I walk back to it and ask it again, What’s the matter, but it’s still not responding.

MUMMY’S SHOES

7 May 2020, Thursday

Mummy is taking a while to wake up so I let daddy wake her up while I explore the drawers where mummy keeps her shoes. I spot a really shiny pair of shoes and I put them on and they make clunk clunk sound when I walk on the hallway but they don’t make any sounds when I walk in the bedroom. I wonder why. Mummy is up and she gives me her handbag and I say, This, and she says, Not my wallet love I have my cards there, and I say, I want, and mummy says, Ok, and I’m happy and I put the wallet in my handbag and I walk down the hallway with my clunky shoes and mummy and daddy are laughing. I think mummy had a good dream that’s why she’s laughing.

Mummy is doing the laundry so I follow her. She closes the door of the washing machine and presses the buttons and the machine makes the sound. Mummy looks at me laughing while I carry my handbag, I wonder why, but I think mummy is doing a good job with the laundry so I tell her, Thanks, and she laughs some more, and she goes to daddy and tells on me and they both laugh. I wonder what’s funny.

I think mummy’s laundry is finished because it doesn’t make the sound anymore. She takes out a boxy container from the drying machine drawer and I help mummy carry it because it’s heavy with the water inside. Then I help mummy throw away the water so now it’s lighter and I tell mummy that I can carry it on my own then I put it back into the drawer of the drying machine and I lock it in with a click. Mummy transfers the stuff from the washing to the drying machine. I know it’s the drying machine because it’s hot inside and the washing machine is never hot.

I’m in my bedroom with mummy and mummy’s on her mobile playing a game and I see a piggy with coins and I say, Oink Oink, and mummy says, Yeah that’s a pig. I play with Teddy and I want to change his nappy and I ask mummy for help but mummy is busy on her mobile and I keep talking to mummy but she looks busy so I go out of the room and I go to where daddy is but daddy says, Shh shh, and mummy yells, Come out here Sophia daddy is busy, and I see many faces on daddy’s computer and daddy keeps saying Shh shh, then mummy appears like magic and grabs me and says, What are you doing here, your daddy is busy, and I say, You’re busy too.

Mummy is cooking something and it smells so good. I go to the kitchen and mummy lets me pour black sauce on the fish on the pan and I do it many times but mummy says, Enough now, but I want to sprinkle the kitchen some more with black sauce.

I see a tiny spoon on the dining table so I reach for it and I see some ginger lying around and I put the ginger in a plate lying around and I grab Bunny and I feed Bunny with the ginger and Bunny says yum.

BIRTHDAY

8 May 2020, Friday

Sophia at 20 months

Mummy says it’s my birthday today and we’re going to blow a candle. She puts a candle on the purple cake but the cake is half already. I wonder what happened to it.

GOING OUT AT LAST

11 May 2020, Monday

Mummy and daddy are talking about going outside because they said we can already go outside and I wonder who they is. I wonder if mummy and daddy will bring me outside because I want to go outside. Then mummy says, Come, let’s change, so I follow her to my bedroom and she takes off my shirt and puts on a shirt with long sleeves, then she asks me, Do you have poo-poo and I say, No no, but she still checks my nappy even after I said, No no. She says, You can keep your pajamas on, and she tells me, Get your shoes, so I go to the shoe box by the door and mummy lets me choose my shoes and she asks, You want your boots? And I say, Ya. We say bye-bye to daddy and daddy says, Have fun, then he goes into the bedroom where he works on all his computer stuff, then mummy points to my jackets hanging on the door by the washing and drying machines and lets me pick the jacket I want. Then she drops the jacket on the floor so I can put it on all by myself. I know where the hoodie is so mummy doesn’t have to tell me where it is, and I stand by the hoodie and insert my arms into the holes and raise my arms above my head and slip into my jacket. Success!

We wait for the lift but mummy doesn’t let me press the button. I wonder why, because she and daddy always let me press the button then the button lights up and the lift makes a sound. The lift door opens and there’s a woman inside, and mummy smiles at her and says, It’s alright, and then the lift door closes between us and the woman inside, then mummy presses the button again and we wait again. I don’t know why we can’t take the lift with the woman because she looks friendly, and also, I can’t wait to go out.

Mummy asks me if I want to walk up and down the big staircase outside of our building and I say, Ya. I hold on to mummy while I step up and up and finish all hundred steps. We reach the top and mummy says, We should go back down. It’s chilly outside but it’s okay because I have my jacket on. We walk towards the fountain but there is no fountain so I ask mummy, Where is the fountain? And mummy says, They’ve closed down the fountain but maybe they will turn it on again soon, and we keep on walking and walking and I feel tired already so I ask mummy to carry me. Mummy carries me and then I see a branch on the ground so I reach out and pick it up and, I know! I will give it to daddy later. Then I see a leaf and I pick it up, then I see a bench and we sit on the bench because I’m tired from walking and picking up stuff. Mummy says, We have to head back because daddy might miss us, and I don’t want daddy to miss us so we head back home.

Mummy looks excited and says, Do you want to paint, and I say, Ya, and I follow her around because she’s going back and forth, to the living room then to the bedroom, then she goes up and reaches for something on top of the wardrobe then she picks some brushes and little bottles with coloured liquid and some papers, then she goes to my bedroom and says, You need to change, and she gives me new clothes and I wonder why because my clothes are still nice and clean because I haven’t had din-dins yet and I haven’t had a bath yet because she only changes me if I’ve had din-dins and I’m messy or if I’d had my bath. Then she takes me to the bath with all the brushes and coloured liquid and papers then she says, Sit down, and we sit down and she pours the coloured liquid into my buckets and we dip the brushes and we start painting on the papers. Then mummy looks excited again and she starts painting on the bath wall itself and it’s fun because we’ve run out of paper to paint on but we’re painting outside the papers. Mummy gets some wipes and she wipes off the paint from the bath and the paint is gone and I want to do it too so I ask mummy and say, Wipes, and she gives me wipes and I paint and erase the paint and paint over it again. It’s so much fun!

FACES ON THE COMPUTER

12 May 2020, Tuesday

I see many faces on my mummy’s computer. There’s lola and lolo too but many other kid’s faces and mummy says they’re my cousins. I wonder what cousin means. Then we sing happy birthday for my cousin in a place called America and mummy lights a candle and I blow the candle while my cousin in America also blows the candle on the cake on the computer. We talk to the faces on the computer and they talk to us but I can’t understand what’s happening and it’s noisy, so I walk around towards the washing machine while mummy follows me with the computer and the faces on the computer laugh while I do my washing and I wonder what’s funny. Mummy leaves the computer on the floor in the hallway while I go check out the shoe box. Mummy asks, Do you want to wear your crocs and I say, Ya, and mummy helps me put on my shoes. Then I walk towards the computer and I show my shoes to the faces on the computer, but all I can see are my knees on the computer. We say bye-bye to the faces on the computer and mummy closes the computer and the faces are gone.

YOGA MAT FUN

13 May 2020, Wednesday

Mummy’s wearing her training shoes and says, I’ll be back right away, and she gives me and daddy morning hugs. Daddy gives me a toast and a banana while we both wait for mummy to come back.

I’m watching Little Baby Bum on the telly and I hear a door opening. Mummy is back and I hug and kiss her leg because I missed her then I go back to the telly.

Mummy’s yoga mat is on the floor and I have an idea so I call daddy and ask him to drag the yoga mat into the hall way and he says yes so I lie on the mat and daddy drags me out of the living room while I say, Bye-bye mummy, who’s in the kitchen and mummy giggles and daddy giggles too and I giggle because it’s fun to be on the yoga mat being dragged by daddy in the hallway.

CLAPPING FOR CARERS

14 May 2020, Thursday

I’m dozing off on daddy’s shoulders then suddenly, mummy swings the door open, takes me away from daddy and on to the windows and she says, Clap love, Clap. I don’t know what she’s talking about or if I am dreaming, but soon I hear clapping outside our building and I look up and see people on their balconies, some of them waving at me and smiling. I wonder what they’re on about. After a while, the clapping is gone, people go back inside but some of them are still outside in their balconies and the air feels warm. Mummy gives me back to daddy, and daddy complains and I complain too because I want mummy now.

TATTOOING MUMMY

16 May 2020, Saturday

Daddy is not working today so I’m excited. Mummy asks, Can you get me socks Sophia, so I go to the bedroom and push the door of the wardrobe that slides and I pull the drawer where the socks are and I got orange socks and I give them to mummy and I help her put it on and she says, Thank you so much.

Mummy’s on the sofa with orange socks on and I have my pen and I draw on the wall but mummy says, No no not there, so I draw on the paper on the table but I get bored so I draw on mummy’s legs and she says, Are you giving me a tattoo, but I don’t know what she’s talking about so I just say, Ya. She shows her ‘tattoo’ to daddy and they both giggle. Mummy and daddy are easy to please.

HANGING OUT BY THE BIN

18 May 2020, Monday

Mummy gives me books that I’ve not seen before and I say, Wow, and she says they’re from Nana but Nana has not visited me recently so I wonder how the books got here. I only see Nana on the mobile before I take my shower after din-dins or sometimes in the morning.

The books are lovely and I see one that has bears on it so I open it and the pictures are really nice. I hang out in the hallway by the tall bin and I like it because I can lean my head on the bin but mummy says, Hey, not there, it’s dirty there, and she picks me up and leads me to the living room but I liked it by the bin but I can’t do anything because mummy keeps saying dirty, dirty.

NO MORE NURSERY

19 May 2020, Tuesday

Mummy’s reading something on her mobile and daddy and her are talking and they talk to me and say, We’re not going back to the nursery any time soon okay, and I say okay but I really want to go back to the nursery because I have my friends there.

I see my blocks on the floor and I build a tower.

PARK DAYS

31 May 2020, Sunday

I pick up twigs in the park. Mummy sits on a shiny blankie on the grass and she arranges the twigs into shapes but I don’t like what she’s doing with them so I take the twigs away from her.

I’m tired from all the walking under the hot sun so mummy carries me and I feel cosy on her shoulders and feel like closing my eyes…

I wake up and I’m back home in my buggy so I cry for help and mummy and daddy come over and now I feel safe.

-END-

Read Part 1