That’s it! I’ve found my calling in life… and it’s patios

It can’t just be me that thinks we’re getting more productive during these unprecedented times…

As a daughter of two elderly parents (one is 95), I have, like so many others, paid them visits with packages and communicated through the window with them. In all my years of knowing and loving my parents, I genuinely didn’t think they could surprise me. However, can you imagine my absolute shock when I turned up to find them using an exercise bike?! They seem to have set up a little gym in their home and I honestly couldn’t believe my eyes.

That probably isn’t the only home-gym story. I’m sure there are many dusty, forgotten bits of equipment being wheeled out of the cupboard or spare room, which have also doubled as a clothes hanger for the past five years. I’ve been speaking to so many people over the weekend who have also turned into DIY experts – one of our amazing associates has told his story of creating a partition wall in the dining room for his newly returned student daughter to have some ‘space’ (which he hopes will prevent any family violence!) He’s also admitted to doing jobs he’s been asked to do around the house since 1997.

Which brings me to my next thought. How are we all going to put up with seeing each other all day, every day, for the foreseeable future?! We’re not equipped to do so. We all have our routines and see each other after work, or during the weekend only, in some cases. Yet families are now discovering their lack of routine may be bringing a little chaos to their daily lives. Some may find themselves on a conference call, whilst trying to simultaneously wrestle with a three-year-old to put them in their outfit for the day they’ve decided they no longer like, while feeding the hyped-up border collies whilst also trying to down a cup of lukewarm tea. These are truly testing times…

What I’ve discovered about myself, is – I might genuinely be in the wrong field of work. Having spent the weekend in the glorious sunshine working on my garden, I have noticed that I’m somewhat of a dab hand at cleaning the patio. It’s so good, in fact, I’m considering sending the pictures to Alan Titchmarsh and half expect a medal delivered by him personally (at a social distance, of course). Perhaps this is the life for me, instead of executive search? The mind boggles…

Of course, this is not at all true. Ennis & Co for me is still exactly where I want to be. Our clients are wonderful, I’m always very humbled that they come back to us time after time. And my team – wow. What a truly remarkable set of individuals. They have taken the peaks and troughs of the last few weeks tremendously, working harder than ever and ensuring the safety of their fellow colleagues. I have never felt more proud. As we get through these turbulent times, we are lucky enough to still have assignments to keep us very busy, which I count as a blessing for us. And we’ll keep up the hard work despite the fact some of us might be going a bit stir crazy…

Let’s stay safe, sane and above all, sensible, during this time. Respect the social distancing… but never forget Ennis & Co are just a phone call away. We're here for you.