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I hope you had a great weekend and your week ahead looks positive.

Last week I think the family finally experienced a dose of ‘cabin fever’. With 8 of us (plus the dog) living under the same roof, the house appeared to shrink. Everyone was getting in each others way and I noticed the tension build throughout the week. I couldn’t find space to concentrate, on my own, and even the dogs snoring started to annoy me. I had Eddie trying to do his online schooling, Cameron on his virtual college work, Sandra playing Candy Crush, Charlene with her phone stuck to her ear, Jack shouting at his PS4 and they were all draining the WiFi. It’s a good job I didn’t have any workshops to deliver as I am sure I would have had connection issues! 

I hid in my bedroom to make calls and send emails, it was the only space left!

The kitchen seemed to become the social meeting place but not in a nice way. Everyone wanted to use the same space and access the same things, at the same time. There was no system, just carnage and when everyone had ‘got their stuff’ the mess left behind was someone else’s job to clear up. The arguments and heated discussions happened frequently and the mood was low most of the week, which was not pleasant. I even tried to do a 1- minute breathing exercise and got interrupted!

Logic and reason didn’t matter. We all knew what was happening but emotionally we couldn’t, collectively, get it together. One person affected another person and the ‘mood hoover’ did its work and sucked us all in like a tornado crossing a small village causing destruction. (Slightly dramatic, I know, but visually you know what I mean!)

Fortunately nothing got really out of hand and we managed to get through it, but it was a low week, we were all in survival mode with the lockdown finally taking its toll. With all of the will in the world we couldn’t all connect in a positive way, at the same time, there was always someone who was moody, upset or angry.

Have you had a week like that recently?

The good thing was that Sandra and I managed to get out and go for walks, even if we were not getting on well. It seemed to help and saved us from losing our minds, totally. We talked about things, we laughed when we shared some of the stupid little things that had annoyed us, that normally wouldn’t. We had a break from the negative atmosphere which gave us more energy to help try and raise the mood when we got home.  

By communicating, staying aware of our own emotions and having empathy for others, we got through a tough week. So I hope, if you have a tough day or week you can laugh about it the next day or following week and make sure nothing ever gets too bad, because, we will get through this by sticking together!

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