LIFESTYLE - THE 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, social distancing and lockdown will go down in the history books - and we are living the moment.
Why not capture your experience to share with future generations? Help them experience this time beyond what they will read about it. One way to do this is through a time capsule.
Understanding what time capsules are used for is a good starting point. This will guide you on your content. Ask yourself:
-What is the purpose of my capsule?
-Do I want to help future generations experience academic, scientific, medical, political and news-making aspects unfolding at this time?
-Is this a personal time capsule for my future self? Is this a family capsule for our future generations?
Time capsules are largely personal and, depending on who you are making yours for, the contents will differ. Here are some ideas.
*For yourself: Write a letter to your future self or keep a weekly diary where you note details of the pandemic, lockdown, how you feel, your fears, what you have learnt most about yourself and what you’ve overcome in this time. While we are all navigating through a difficult time, try to see the positives as well. We have more time with our families, more time to pray or meditate and to grow spiritually and more time to appreciate the little things, like a hug or a kiss.
Picture: pxhere.com
*For small children: Help children express themselves. Create a fun activity page for them around this time and how they feel about it. For example, headline a blank page with the child’s name, age and the date. Ask them to draw a picture to show you the coronavirus and what a lockdown is. Then discuss what they drew: Why did you draw a sad face or a scared face? What is the coronavirus? What is a lockdown? Jot those Q&As at the bottom of the page and that captures your little one’s moment in history.
Picture: pxhere.com
*For teens: Get your youngsters to make a video letter to their future selves or to other young people their age in the future. They should start off with their name, age, where they live or where they go to school or university. They can then proceed to discuss what has happened since the pandemic started and unpack how they feel about it and how it has impacted their lives. Save it to your laptop or PC and then on to a memory stick to add to the capsule.
Picture: pxhere.com
*A family contribution:
-Make a keepsake that reflects your family living at this moment. If you have access to a computer, laptop or printer, take photos of your family during lockdown (cooking together, watching your favourite movie, gardening, playing board games, or just relaxing and talking. Print these and make an album, captioning each picture. So now you have a visual diary of the lockdown.
-Make a family video together (similar to your teens’ video letter), only this time shoot the video as a family, affording each person the opportunity to share some thoughts on the pandemic, lockdown and how they feel. Save that to a separate memory stick.
A homemade keepsake:
Picture: Facebook/Mama’s Favorite Recipes
Facebook page, Mama’s Favorite Recipes, shared a great idea for a lockdown family keepsake that you could also add to your capsule:
How to make the salt dough mould:
1 cup of salt
2 cups of flour 3⁄4 cup of water
In a large bowl, mix salt and flour together. Gradually stir in water. Mix well until it forms a doughy consistency. Turn the dough on to the bench and knead with your hands until smooth and combined.
Make your creations using the salt dough.
Place the salt dough creations into the oven at 180 degrees celcius. The amount of time needed to bake depends on the size and thickness of the salt dough creations.
*For the future generations (general): It’s one thing to read about history but there is no better way to truly understand a moment in time than to live it. Help someone out there live through these moments. You could:
-Include a collection of newspapers in your capsule, to show the news as it unfolded.
-Print lockdown guidelines off official government websites and social media platforms, like Facebook page: The Presidency of the Republic of South Africa. This can show people what rules and regulations were issued.
-Save some of the videos doing the rounds showing how communities and nations survived social distancing and the lockdown (like the Italians singing from their windows, the orchestras and musicians making viral videos with songs of hope). Put these on a memory stick and add it to your box.
The best materials for your capsule:
Goodtoknow. co.uk suggests it is important to use a sturdy container that will not rot or fall apart over time, especially if you are thinking of burying it. Shoeboxes are good for storing indoors, Wikihow.com com suggests an old coffee can hold underground for more than 10 years.
You will be amazed at some of the sturdy ‘capsules’ you could find in the house. Now is the time to make use of all those jewellery or trinket boxes, glass jars and kids’ money boxes that lie around.
Picture: Latoya Newman You can find loads of easy DIY ideas on Pinterest, like using a 2-litre plastic bottle. Use the bottle as is, or cut the tops off two bottles. Push the two bottoms together, seal the centre joint with sellotape and label.
Picture: Pinterest