My husband Romain and I are both 37, I work as a freelance translator from my home office and Romain is the manager of a small company that installs mirror walls all over France(miroir-sport.com).

We met 12 years ago in Paris, I had studied there and he is a true Parisian. Nine years ago we moved to Brittany, to a small seaside resort on the south coast, which is very cosy and sleepy in winter. Our three boys were born here: Martin, 8 years old, Lucien, 4.5 years old and Antoine, 2.5 years old. My mum, who already lived nearby, moved in with us during the first lockdown - only temporarily at first, but we quickly found a balance that was comfortable for everyone and she stayed.

We've been in a half-hearted lockdown since the end of October, with schools and many shops remaining open. When Romain is travelling on business, he can stay in a hotel, for example, but as the restaurants are closed, there is only room service.

On 15 December, the partial lockdown was replaced by a curfew starting at 8 pm. Cultural and artistic institutions, cafés, bars and restaurants as well as winter sports resorts will remain closed. Perhaps as compensation for the fact that our beaches were closed in spring? Masks are compulsory for the majority of people, with relatively high fines for France (around 135 euros, the same as for jaywalking), and children aged 7 and over have to wear face masks at school.

After the experience in spring, the children are happy that they can go to school and at least spend time with their friends there. Nevertheless, the measures are drastic for them. Martin and Lucien attend a multi-grade school that previously emphasised smooth transitions between the year groups. They were able to play together during the day and eat together at lunchtime. Since October, the classes have had to remain clearly separated and the groups are not allowed to swap during the day. This was difficult, especially as they had mastered the first lockdown together.

Martin has to wear a mask because he is 8 years old, but the 6-year-olds in his class don't have to wear masks. This has caused a lack of understanding. What the children miss most is contact with their friends and cousins outside of school. During the lockdown until 15 December, all playgrounds and break areas were also closed. Apart from going to school and the doctor, the children were only allowed to go out for walks in the neighbourhood. At the weekend, the two older children were allowed to spend the night with a friend for the first time since October, which was a great pre-Christmas present for them.

We are both experiencing a decline in orders, which is still having an impact today. My husband installs mirror walls for associations, sports clubs and local authorities, who are holding back on investments due to the ongoing planning uncertainty. However, he is also consciously sticking to a less rigorous working rhythm, as he has come to appreciate the family time together in spring. He now usually stays at home for a week and then spends a week travelling. As a translator, I work from home and coordinate my working hours with the school timetable. Professionally, I had the feeling that many companies were quick to cut back on communication expenses.

From January, all three children go to school four days a week. In France, children have to go to pre-school from the age of 3 at the latest as preparation for primary school. Their day there starts at 8.45am, and at lunchtime they can choose to eat at home or in the canteen. In the afternoon, sleep is the main thing on the programme for the very youngest children, and they finish at 4.30 pm. They are at home on Wednesdays, mainly looked after by my mum.

Brittany seems to be less affected than the rest of the country. In the municipality where we live, a cluster was identified early on and a municipality-wide quarantine was declared immediately, two weeks before the national lockdown in March. This certainly curbed further developments considerably. The few people who have been infected with Covid-19 in our area have not had severe symptoms.

Normally we celebrate with my family-in-law in the wider sense, with the children we are around 30. These are always very exuberant days. This year we're celebrating on a more modest scale with my mum and my parents-in-law. We are skipping the traditional visit to family and friends in Switzerland for once.

During the first lockdown, our three boys stayed at home for almost three months, without their usual, well-paced daily routines. Experiencing this unfamiliar situation together brought them closer together. Teaching at home gave us an unexpected insight into their everyday school life, their teacher prepared detailed lesson plans for us via learning app and endeavoured to find exciting and varied activities.

We also bonded as a family. Romain was previously only at home at weekends and during the holidays, which he was already unhappy with before corona. At the weekends, we were often out and about, attending family parties, going on short holidays, etc. This "top-down" time-out suddenly gave us the opportunity to get out of our usual rut and take time just for ourselves. We decorated, crafted, carpentered and feasted together.

Distance is a good word, and of course we regularly reached our limits in this anything but everyday life. Working from home, homeschooling and looking after small children simply didn't fit together, even if the framework was more relaxed than usual. On a positive note, I now feel that I can react more calmly to unforeseen events on good days and let things go.

That we can organise our family and leisure time more according to our own wishes again and spend time with friends, family and neighbours with a clear conscience. I also hope that we can put aside this fear of contact for the children, that they can blow out their candles over the birthday cake again and share "Schläckstängel" - if they feel like it.