When we found out on that Monday the whole country was going into Lockdown, we didn’t fully understand what that meant. It wasn't until Grant (our step-dad) arrived at  school to pick us up. This was unusual as we were expecting to go to our dad's house. Grant explained some of what was happening, and that we will talk more when Mum got home. We felt very anxious about what was going on and it seemed like an eternity waiting for our mum. We were just relieved that whatever happened we had each other and, as twins, we’ve always felt that we have a better bond than most siblings.

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After Mum finished work, we all sat at the table. Mum then told us that we would be staying at her house for the next few weeks as our dad is classed as an essential worker. Our parents made sure that we would be okay with this. We were fine as we knew to keep safe and healthy this would be the best option for everyone. We were a wee bit worried our dad would catch COVID-19, but he assured us he’d be fine and still ring everyday.

We were then told we would no longer be able to go to school. At first, this was quite exciting, however, that went away pretty fast when it was explained that we were also not allowed to see friends and family; so no playdates or sleepovers either. We couldn’t even go back to school to say goodbye to our friends and teachers. Our 13th birthday party was not going to happen. We would not be allowed to leave our ‘bubble’; so much information and upset in such a short time. COVID-19 had just changed our lives in minutes.

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We voted for Mum to be the person to go out for essential things as she is the healthiest in our house. Grant has leukaemia so he is high risk. We included our elderly neighbour and adopted Nana, Joesie, in our bubble, since she has no family in Christchurch. Our little bubble, for the next few weeks would be Mum, Grant, Joesie and us (Daisy and Lincoln).

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By the third week of Lockdown, we were content in our bubble. We had a routine going on which included lots of family time, walks on the beach, football in the backyard, tennis in the driveway, golf putting in the lounge, and home school. Movie nights, bike rides, board games had all increased. We even learnt how to make some delicious evening meals like Mum's lemon chicken, American Sloppy Joe's and our step-dad's famous macaroni and cheese. We did lots of yummy baking from our great grandmother’s recipe book, like chocolate-chip biscuits made with instant pudding, Belgian biscuits and Anzac biscuits, using a recipe from her mother. Daisy was better at making dinner and Lincoln kept to baking. We were enjoying having Mum home every day from work and no rushing around; life seemed to relax.

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Everything changed again when Grant received a phone call from his friend Pete, telling him his brother Bernie, who was Grant's good friend, had passed away in Burwood hospital due to COVID-19. This was a reality check. Bernie died alone with no friends, family or anyone familiar to him. He was such a kind and friendly man. COVID-19 just punched us in the guts, and it hurt.

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COVID-19 needs to be taken seriously. We need to stay safe, be kind and tell our families we love them.  We felt lucky to be twins at this uncertain time as we always had each other.