Renovation Column: How pandemic lockdown is helping us navigate renovating with kids
When considering a big move to our forever family home our children were at the forefront of the decision making process and one of the reasons it nearly didn’t happen.
Mum guilt is a hard thing to navigate at the best of times and it really made me question if we were doing the right thing by our children in taking on such a big renovation project.
Yes there would be huge long term benefits for the girls including a lovely big garden to play in, bigger bedrooms and the space to host more play dates but they would certainly have to endure sacrifices in the short term.
The memory making holidays they’d miss out on because all of our money is tied up in renovations, expensive days swapped for free trips to the park and restaurant meals replaced with picnics in the garden.
They’d also have to pitch in assisting with DIY, learning new life skills that would come in handy in the future but that they might not be in the mood for at the ages of four and nine.
So was it fair on our children to take on such a massive project? I’ll likely never fully know the answer to this as we’re pretty much all making it up as we go when it comes to parenting because, unfortunately, kids don’t come with an Ikea-style set of instructions. But what I do know is children remember the time you spend with them rather than the things you do, and I have concrete evidence of this.
Indulge me if you will and take a walk down memory lane to COVID lockdown times (apologies if this brings with it PTSD for parents who had to homeschool). A time of social distancing, furlough and arguing with your partner about if they’d used one sheet of paper or two from your precious toilet roll reserves.
When I think back it was like being transported to what my parents affectionately refer to as “the good old days.” With nowhere to go and no money to spend it was a time to embrace the simple and budget friendly lifestyle (and Joe Wicks daily exercise videos, of course).
With only one child to look after (back when we thought we had it hard before our second daughter arrived and humbled us) our days were spent crafting, playing tag and enjoying picnics.
Lockdown firmly remains one of my eldest daughter’s favourite memories of growing up. She doesn’t look back with bitterness about the things she couldn’t do or missed out on; she looks back and remembers fondly that summer when mummy and daddy were at home all the time, didn’t have to work in an office and could spend every minute with her. So I’ve decided turning this house into a home will become our new pandemic because if kids can look back fondly at COVID surely a renovation will be a (socially distanced) walk in the park.
Keep up to date with all the progress by following @ohgodweboughtavicarage on Instagram.