It’s been interesting to think about the luxury of having a garden, some outside space, more than one room for our family to live in as I think the COVID19 lockdown would have been much more difficult. Contemplating on a potential lockdown with the children over winter where we can’t visit parks, where it will be too cold to be in the garden, if we need to have a two week isolation period for illness or that someone in my children’s school has had it is daunting but a stark reminder that we are still more fortunate than so many others.
Working from home has highlighted inner city living where even well-paid office professionals may not have a suitable home to work from home. Their rent may be so extreme that one room is all they have and they have to accommodate their working and personal life in quite a small space in isolation. It has also highlighted crowding in families that have been trying to home school where the children’s space to study alongside parents working is extremely limited and therefore puts them at a disadvantage in their education. It is also a worry for many that they may lose their home if they lose their jobs with many traditional industries facing huge risks and financial viability.
Regardless of where you live, your home should be somewhere you feel safe and secure. It’s World Habitat Day today and Covid19 has made home a much more important place for us all where we live and for many where we work. Migrations of people from inner city moving out to suburbs to capture more space to enable better homeworking and to reduce being in cramped conditions is freeing; but there are many who have lost their jobs, will lose their jobs and there are others who live in such extreme poverty that having a home is always a concern in their minds. I remind myself always to be thankful for my home, and to appreciate the space we have to live and care for each other.
Skills Repeat 