Family Gran-of-eight Maggie Clayton’s advice column
Dear Maggie
Over the past weeks and months I’ve got used to living in lockdown and I’m actually enjoying it.
I’ve made the most of my time at home, cooking, decorating, working in the garden and catching up with friends and family through long phone calls and chatting on Zoom. My husband, on the other hand, has been like a caged lion, moaning about the things he can’t do like meeting up with his mates in the pub, planning golf outings, going to watch rugby, deciding whether we will book a foreign holiday this summer.
Has he used his time doing any home decorating I’ve asked him to do? No chance. Or tackling some car maintenance or even getting round to clearing out the loft with me, getting rid of stuff we don’t need any more? No way. All he has done is whine about the restrictions on his freedom.
This is combined with questions like – how about a cuppa? Or what’s for lunch today? Have you baked any more of those scones?
Too much togetherness hasn’t worked for me but my husband has put on a stone in weight with over-eating and is perfectly happy with his indolent lifestyle.
Thank goodness freedom from lockdown is on the horizon. I can’t wait. Normality? Bring it on.
Maggie says
Are you struggling in these uncertain times? Contact Maggie for advice
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Trust me – you are not alone. I know lots of women among my friends and family who feel exactly as you do.
We haven’t been able to let off steam with our friends over a chilled bottle of wine on a Friday evening or enjoy a gossip on a shopping trip round our favourite stores at the weekend.
Yes it was good to have more time to potter around the house, to read those books piled at the side of the bed, to take time to think and plan how to decorate the kitchen, and make decisions about where to go on holiday this summer. But lockdown has its limitations.
Life as we know it was interrupted by strict rules. Let’s get out there and live it to the full. The freedom train has arrived, jump on board. The world is waiting.
Dear Maggie
My two children, who are aged 10 and eight years old, are longing to have a pet.
I would be happy to get them a puppy or a kitten but the trouble is my husband suffers from hay fever and asthma and animal fur irritates him and makes him sneeze a lot.
Is there any way I can get round this problem?
Maggie says
That’s a tough one. I know exactly how you feel because when my children were young they longed to have a pet.
We got a puppy called Bernie and our sons loved playing with him and taking him for walks. But every summer my husband, who also suffers from hay fever, spent his time sneezing into his hankie.
When Bernie died, we decided no more pets.
Then a kitten wandered into our lives and Tigger took over a chair in the living room, and persuaded even my husband that he would take his antihistamine tablets and Tigger got a reprieve.
Sometimes tough choices have to be made. Children learn a lot from looking after a pet. Talk it through with your husband and see if he’s prepared to give it a go.