Making my Social Bubble in COVID- Diary of a Three Year Old

Mom says Corona is going…

I was excited to hear that.

“Can I play with my friends?” I asked.

“We have to take things slowly,” Mom explained. “We can start by making a social bubble.”

“What’s a social bubble?”

“Now ten people can meet among each other, but we still can’t go to the market and we have to stay away from others we meet when out for a walk.”

At least we could do something new! So we made a social bubble with our neighbours.

The good thing is that I can now play with Dax, my friend who lives in the next house!

The bad thing is, I still can’t go to the play-place at McDonald’s or school. But Mom says I should be able to go to school after the summer. Yay!

For now, I am loving playing with my friend. We started slowly, with playing in each other’s backyards. Then we were allowed to go to each other’s houses. Dax was so excited to have me over, he showed me all his rooms and toys in case I had forgotten about them.

One day, we were sitting with our moms on Dax’s porch and solving a puzzle together. We bumped into each other and then looked at our moms to see if they would scold. We were so surprised and happy when they said it was okay to touch each other that we hugged! It was amazing to be able to hold and tickle each other after such a long time.

It’s also summer now, so we play a lot outdoors. We can’t go to playgrounds or splash pads yet. So, our parents turn on garden sprinklers and bring out the pools for us to splash in on hot days. We even create obstacle courses in the garden with all our outdoor toys. It’s a lot of fun.

The other day, another of my friends, Piya, came from downtown Toronto. Earlier this year, before the virus, I had visited her in the city. This time, she came to me in the country. Mom says she is a city girl and I am a country boy!

Piya’s family spent the day with us in the backyard and we had to stay ‘six feet apart’. That’s what you have to do till Corona goes away fully. But it was fun. We took turns in the sand box and splash pool and ate lots of yummy things made by our mommies.

It has now been a long time since this virus came into our lives. Sometimes, I like to think about the things I will do when everything becomes normal again. I should make a list!

But till then, I am happy to have a social bubble and to be able to play with my best friend again.