Everybody’s experience of this terrible, weird, boring and stressful time is different. My own particular situation, as a 50 something mum with grown up adult children as house guests, is almost like a strange time shift back to 7 years ago when I had a couple of teenagers in the house. For the most part my son and his girlfriend are impeccably behaved and they are grateful for our hospitality. They arrived just before lockdown, fleeing sad London, their jobs all but disappeared. As musicians who perform regularly they cannot look forward to a rapid return to work any time soon. They are both teaching remotely but this has had its challenges. I feel for them and inviting them here was the least I could do.

Nevertheless, I have to admit that I am finding it a struggle. I now realise that I relish my own company more than anything. I am not one of those people who has to be with others all the time, in fact I am happiest having hours and whole days of solitude. I do also like my house to be quite tidy and so I am not really finding their habit of leaving cups, plates and various bits and bobs around charming in any sense. The other difficulty is the noise. At this very moment in time my son’s girlfriend is playing her own compositions on the piano. She has a gentle energy and it is not too irksome. Yesterday, however, my son was practicing some new music which sounded as though it’s intention was to cause profound discomfort to the listener. He likes discordant jazz. I do not.

I do not even have access to my lovely sanctuary/therapy room as this has been taken over by my husband who is working at home. So, I have created a little area in my bedroom and I have to say it works quite well. The living room and kitchen were hitherto places that I loved to spend time in but as they are now thoroughfares, they are not conducive to peace and quiet.

As human beings we have a wonderful ability to adapt to situations and this adaptability brings a certain resilience. I recognise that my challenges are so very trivial in the scheme of things and I have so much to be thankful for.

I should add, however, that I have ordered some noise cancelling headphones.

Stay safe and happy people,

Wendy x