Tips on Family ReUni-ted!

Today’s post comes from Jonathan Holden, Molly Maid’s Chief Operating Officer. Jonathan’s role is mainly planning how to make MOLLY MAID better and he does this with unwaiving enthusiasm for the brand and our Franchise Owners since joining the company over 13 years ago. Jonathan shares his experience with his family all working, sleeping, eating under a single roof during lockdown.

Third week of lockdown and counting, and it’s been a family challenge for many, with new found routines needed to mix home and business lifestyles under one roof – for us it’s also been with one 20 year old son (back from Uni) and another 17 year old (working hard on his A Levels only just 3 weeks ago) patiently respecting each other’s space, music, laundry needs, dishwasher techniques, and avoiding Piccadilly Circus rush hour (remember that?) in the kitchen at breakfast, lunch and dinner. But for others in the same situation let me share how they and we make the best of it while doing as the government tell us.

Food planning and timings? Apart from the constant need to refill the fridge trough, with business hours starting at 6am, and their waking at post-11am, paths don’t cross until lunch earliest. So sorted there. Lunch is a personal scramble, but dinner is wonderful as we’re back to a family of four with chats and board games, it’s traditional fun just like the good old times. It’s even been a chance for them to cook experimental menus, one with recently found uni-culinary skills and the other watching on as his apprentice.

How have they dealt with it? With the gym shut, it’s been a make-shift garden workout, with bags of soil and bricks for weights, skipping ropes, shuttle runs and circuits around the lawn. Cheap, convenient and now daily routine, each motivated by gaining a six pack that is a very distant dream for their Dad. Evenings? Well thank goodness for technology – XBox, YouTube, Netflix and Minecraft – Thank you.

But how best to make the best of it? While Uni son is diligently working online on his criminology curriculum ahead of imminent remote year two exams, A Level son now finds himself with a 5 month gap before a ‘prior exam/mock results and merit based system’ hopefully leads to the grades he’s been pursuing for years. That’s a long time but this unprecedented epidemic also provides us as parents will the chance to encourage and support them to make the best of this unique opportunity to read more, learn more and be inventive – it’ll be a story on their CVs that no other year will have. I’ve a few ideas, as do they – how will your children impress future employers?

kanikasrivastava

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