Lessons from Lockdown – Home Edition
As restrictions ease and we slowly return to ‘normality’, I’ve been feeling really reflective on the last three or four months and been thinking more and more about what I’ve learned from a situation that none of us ever expected to be in.
I’ve learned just how much I love my little old house. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve always really liked it – but spending virtually all of my time in this tiny two-up, two-down has given me a new found joy when thinking about the place.
Almost overnight, my house became my place to work (cue a super quick and rather effective home office makeover), my place to relax, my place to socialise (via the medium of Zoom) and also my home gym (my pact with myself to practice yoga every single day lasted approximately two weeks, but it’s the thought that counts, no?). Had somebody asked me last year could I do all of these things from a 100-year-old Edwardian mid-terrace shared with my husband, who also needed the space to do all of these things I’d have laughed in their face, but now I know just how versatile a property can be.
It also made me realise just how little time I was actually spending here, which in hindsight seems crazy considering that this house was the single most expensive thing I’ve ever, ever bought (and probably ever will for a very long time). We spent so long saving for this house, so many weekends doing DIY, so much money on furniture and building work only to be never at home. Between working in offices, spending Friday nights at the pub, being out and about on Saturdays and Sundays – downtime at home was a rare treat but these days, I’ve learned to really make the most of it.
Which brings me on to my new favourite things – little luxuries.
Being at home 24/7 has introduced us to knew ways of eating and drinking – we’re shopping locally with meat and fish deliveries from local butchers and fishmongers, and we’ve even found a Liverpool based bakery that delivers the most amazing bread to our doorstep once a week. We’ve made the weekends special by laying the table, cracking open the good wine, popping on a record and breaking up our evenings, and my Saturday nights in lockdown have been some of my favourite nights in a long, long while.
Maybe it’s my age (I just turned 27) or maybe it’s because I’m a ‘mum’ now (to rescue pup Otis), but something just feels different. Life has slowed down and time at home has become the best of times – for my mental health, my sanity, my bank balance, my relationships and so much more.
And there you have it – I’m now a self-confessed home bird, and it feels so good!
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