I have THE BEST neighbours.
I do.
And although you might read this and think that you do, you don't, I do.
Why? Because they are also my landlords and I found the house my kids and I now live in at the 11th hour and before I was almost going to be homeless for a period of time (due a rather unpleasant last minute housing u-turn from my ex-husband when we first separated). For love nor money could I find a suitable, nice house, to rent for me and the kids. Somewhere that would be their 'main' home (after such a horrendous and desperately sad disruption for them), and that also meant they could easily get to and from school, when I had to leave early/arrive back late (from what was, at the time, a BIG work commute).
But then, a mere 7-days before our old family house sale completed, and we all had to be out, and with real panic setting in, 'this' house came up for rent. I must have been one of the first to see it, immediately rang them, and begged them to let me see it the next day. I did and I signed there and then. It was a fab, cosy house that the kids would love being in, in a lovely village, and it was on a school bus route (it picked them up from the end of the drive)... And it was empty! And I got it!
Sadly, I was still homeless for a week, because the estate agent mucked something up, which meant we couldn't move in the following weekend as needed; so as my house was being packed-up by a removal company, I had to run out and beg them to find storage for a week... It was a stressful time in many, many ways. Far more than I'm stating here, and as such I learned a lot about myself, what I could take/fix and still get up every day as a semi-good mum, holding down a pretty stressful job.
The kids and I have lived here for 2-years now, and I hope for a few more to come. They're really happy here. I'm happy here; and as I've said, I have THE BEST neighbours. Home ownership/mortgages and the like aren't essential when there's more important things at play; and the important things in my case, are my kids and their happiness. And my sanity.
As a working single mum, Jim and Janet have been rocks of support to me... From fixing anything wrong with the house immediately, to helping me with my cars, feeding our pets when we're away, and just generally looking out for me and the kids. After what was a really horrid situation, something wonderful came out of it, and I am so grateful to them, the universe and whatever other powers were at play to bring us here and to them.
However... having them on TWWork as podcast guests may still feel a bit odd. After all, they're just my neighbours - AND they're retired and long out of the daily grind of working life - right?
Wrong. Because I know... that they know... a lot. About life and working life, and even though they're retired, they still have business relationships at play, and are still hugely aware of what's going on in the world. They are well-educated, smart, open-minded people, who have a sincere interest in the world and their community.
And their knowledge - like all, ok, most, from their generation - needs to be celebrated and shared more....
We are seeing our societies disrupt and in some respects, crumble like never before; and when times are like this, speaking to people who have lived through similar before, and have the battle scars to prove it, is only ever going to be a good thing.
So that is why I coerced (and I did coerce, I can't lie), Jim and Janet to record a BR with me. For a first, 'soft' attempt (I had to let it be VERY relaxed and informal, to ensure they didn't back-out, or worse, freak out), I think it went well. Yes multiple bottles of prosecco were consumed, but that's by-the-by.
And as I say at the end of the BR, in my closing, A LOT was discussed and A LOT was ultimately cut-out, purely on the basis of (first-attempt) narrative context. BUT, my hope is that like me, you will see the immense value of their generational perspective, and would like to hear more from them.
Jim and Janet rule!
Chops x
Click here to listen to the Jim and Janet's Break Room's podcast:
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