As we approach the end of Mental Health Awareness Week 2020, the cats at Hot Tin Roof wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on the positives of more time spent at home. While life may be upside down at the moment, there have been many silver linings that have come from living in lockdown.
Here are some of our highlights…
We’ve become social butterflies
One thing we could all agree on was that in these difficult times, it has been our friends and family that have got us through.
Vickie, Senior Account Manager said: One huge positive has been spending quality time with my fiancé. It sounds a bit weird to say because we live together, but our pre-Covid lives were busy! Spending quality time together sometimes fell by the wayside due to work commitments, gym memberships, socialising… the usual. Spending quality time together in our home has been so much fun – we laugh a lot and enjoy each other’s company. It’s time that I cherish and has been hugely valuable to me.
Jane, Account Manager added: Our toddler is loving having mummy and daddy at home all the time, and we are enjoying the opportunity to watch her meet new milestones every day. She misses the rest of her family and friends but has adapted quickly to video calls. She also enjoys the seemingly endless procession of packages arriving for her, containing treats and surprises from her family who miss her!
Steven, our newest Account Executive mentioned: I’ve made an effort to check-in with grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins etc., a few times a week. It’s a great opportunity to touch base and support each other. As a result, I probably feel closer and more involved with my extended family than ever before. I also get to spend quality time with my partner and son every day. We’ve played together more in the last 12 weeks than the last 12 months and I consider myself a LEGO Master Builder these days.
Jasmine, Senior Account Executive said: I’m getting to spend time with my favourite gal (me!). I have discovered that even though I am by myself, I am really lucky as I am actually really good company. It’s actually forced me to be more proactively social and allocate time to going out of my way to check in on others.
We’ve discovered new and old hobbies
With no commute, we have all had a bit of extra time on our hands, and it’s made us quite creative.
Sarah, Founder and MD said: I’m enjoying the calm. Turns out I’m quite a homebody and actually love hanging around my home. I’ve genuinely got no problem in filling my time and have not been bored at all! There are so many things I want to do, and I get frustrated I don’t have enough time to do all the exercise, crafting, reading, making and general pottering I want to!
Annie, our Director, has 3 small boys to entertain: We’re using nearly all the recycling for junk modelling. This is a positive and a negative. I feel we have done more than our bit for the planet but now my house resembles a scene from the movie Cats! We’ve also discovered secret paths near our house that we didn’t know existed. The time and energy to explore our area and then see the discoveries through the innocent eyes of the boys has been amazing.
Vickie has been flexing her cooking muscles, saying: Lockdown has seen me spend way more time in the kitchen, cooking those dishes that I have always wanted to, but never really got around to. Travel is important to me, so every Saturday since lockdown, my fiancé and I have selected a country and have picked a few native dishes to cook together with a glass of wine. This has pushed me out of my comfort zone and has been an amazing way to experience another culture without being physically there. I’ve even started my own Instagram foodie page @vixfoodfix.
Alice, Account Executive said: I’ve loved having the time to properly relax. I know it sounds obvious, but I’m one of these people that likes to run headfirst from one big life change to the next, without taking time to pause in between. Before lockdown, I would fill my evenings and weekends up with back-to-back plans – I could just never justify a day on the sofa! Having the time (and excuse) to really rest over the last 8 weeks has been great for my mental health – who knew binge-watching Netflix could be an accomplishment!
Our adaptability
We have all adapted to the ‘new normal’ and have been inspired by those around us who have done the same.
Jane told us about how her neighbours have been utilising their space: It has been lovely to see my neighbours make use of the small outdoor spaces nearby. Previously neglected patches of earth and grass dotted around the urban jungle of Leith have suddenly sprung a variety of blooms and have been tidied and cared for. People are clearly discovering that they have a green thumb, and a new appreciation for whatever wee patch of land they have safe access to.
Jasmine mentioned the ways in which her family have adapted to new lines of communication: My nana has started emailing me garden updates and pictures of her and my papa out on their walks. My nana was a complete technophobe before this and couldn’t even get into her emails, but now she is sending me regular ones with images attached. It warms my wee heart when I get these updates!
Sarah summed it up perfectly by saying: I think we are amazing! How strong and resilient are we to be able to take all of this in our stride? Not in my wildest imagination could I have dreamt this one up. And yet look at us. We are doing it. And doing it magnificently. I think people are pretty cool and I’m proud of us.
Check out more of what we have been up to with our #lightenyourlockdown hashtag. What have you been doing during this time? Get in touch here.
