CLAIRE

I spent some time with Claire, Ben, and little Albie a few evenings ago. Claire and I used to work next door to each other - she and her sister own a bloody awesome store called Ruck Rover - go visit once this is all over. The premises used to be on Chelmsford Road in Mount Lawley, and I worked in a shop next door, Libertine.

Claire invited me to observe a typical evening in the household, feeding, washing, and getting their seven month old ready for bed. It was just the most normal, everyday magic unfolding, and I felt privileged to witness. She showed me her grandmothers clock, her most special possession, it tells the wrong time.

Albie tried capsicum for the first time, and was transfixed by seeing the face of a new person peering in the window.

Life for Ben and Claire is more or less as it would have been, without the restrictions. The first seven months of Albie's life has flown by, and determines much of their schedule. Claire wishes that she could have had a truly self indulgent quarantine period, and we both definitely agree that a rewatch of The OC would not go astray.

There is so much beauty in the routine of this little family, and it was calming and peaceful to observe.