Today many businesses will reopen under advanced level 3. The benefit of re-opning the economy can not be denied. However though for many things are not much different now than they were in level 5. For a lot of families it has been over 2 months of little to no income which is tough even for someone that is diligent with saving as much as possible.
I've seen posts from small businesses owners who can't pay their staff, parents who can't afford school fees and businesses which have unfortunately shut for good.
So in light of this I thought I would share something personal from my childhood with all of you. To remind you that this too shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone but it will pass.
There was a time in my childhood where we didn't have money, in fact, we would have been classified as poor. When I was still quite young my dad lost his job. Now it's not like we were super rich and comfortable where this was no big deal and we had a mountain of savings to fall back on. This was a huge deal for us. We were an average family and there wasn't much in the form of savings at the end of each month because with 2 kids it's hard to save when they constantly need stuff
I can't remember exactly how old I was when my dad lost his job but I don't think I was older than 8. I say 8 because I remember moving to a new school for standard 4 because we couldn't afford the school that I was in at the time. Along with moving schools, we also had to move house and there was actually a period where I actually didn't go to school because we couldn't afford it.
Logically now you would assume that we would have gone back to Mauritius at this time but my dad being who is and with his refusal to quit bought a shelf company and decided he was going to make a go of doing it for himself.
At the time it was also much cheaper for my dad to buy a shelf company than to pay for 4 tickets for us all to fly back to Mauritius, for him to be in the same position he was in any way.
We moved to a house in Satellite, owned by a man called Mr Patel. He was quite a difficult man from what I've heard but he was surprisingly kind to us and actually allowed us to live rent-free for a while. As an 8 year old I thought this house was amazing. I did not notice that it was not in the nicest area and really quite old and run down. To me it was magical, it had a huge yard and these weird rooms that didn't make sense. There was no passage so the rooms kind of lead into each other.
The house was set up in such a way where our house was on the one side of the fence and on the other side there were I think or 4 or 5 other houses. Sort of like an old school row of flats.
My dads' first workshop was in this little house, in a covered area we had as part of the kitchen.
He eventually saved up enough to build himself a workshop to the side of the house and that's where he worked from and my moms' office was inside the house near our dining room. My dad had put up these wooden panels for mom to create this separation, so she could feel like she had her own professional space.
I remember thinking at the time that my parents were superhuman and amazing because here they were building things and creating all this from scratch.
My 8-year-old mind didn't understand that they did it all on their own because at the time we couldn't afford a full-on construction crew. If we could afford it we probably wouldn't be building a workshop in our backyard in the first place.
In the afternoons my mom would help me climb over the fence to go play next door my friend Tobie when she would got back from school. I remember the first time I watched Home Alone was at her house (yes guys it was on VHS that's how old I am). I remember sneaking into my moms' office while she was busy and I would sit there and pretend I was her, answering the phones and doing the books. The numbers in the books, the bills and invoices meant nothing to me they were part of the game.
Now this all still sounds like a pretty normal childhood. I was unaware of all the stress my parents were under and only saw the good.
There was a day my moms' friend, Aunty Bayen, came to visit and as is customary my mom asked if she would like anything to drink or eat. Before she could answer I pipped up all excited and told her " you can't have tea Aunty because we save the milk for Katie and you also can't have bread because we have no butter". My mom was mortified that I had let it be known to someone else how bad things were but in my mind, I thought I had done a good thing. Our lives were happy and perfect to me that saving milk for my sister or not having groceries was not a bad thing. I didn't see the time my parents didn't eat so we could have the last bit of bread.
My favourite memory of my dad at that time is him making kites for us. I don't think he even realised how big an impact that had on my sister and I. He would use random paper and sticks and create the most insane kites. If we were being fancy and there was money to spare he would buy us brightly coloured crepe paper and my sister and I would stay out all afternoon building and flying kites with him.
With not a lot of disposable income to buy new clothes, my mom was a rockstar and would paint cartoon characters on plain shirts for my sister and I. We had the coolest one of a kind clothes and I felt so special that it was something mom made for me. She would spend hours making clothes for us and not once did my mind think "is this because we have no money." I was just excited about picking out paint colours with her and watching these drawings come to life.
So for all the parents going through a tough financial time and worried about what your kids might remember or if this will scar them for life, I guarantee you they will remember the good. No matter how worried and conflicted you feel inside all they see is you. You don't have to do anything extra special to create super memories. Memories are created in the normal everyday moments you don't even realise.
Even though this was the most stressful time for my parents it was a happy time for me. Every memory of us in Satellite is a happy one. I have always said that if I win the lotto I am going back and buying that rickety old house because it is where my most treasured childhood memories are.
I am so incredibly proud of my parents for all they have done for us and how hard they have worked for us to be who we are today.
Tony and I have certainly not been without our share of hard times and we are worried about the uncertainty of the future but I know we can get through whatever comes our way.
With perseverance and faith, the impossible is attainable.
Remember that your current situation is not a guarantee of where you will end up.
