Franglo

A bit of pandemic pause; life was just too heavy to write. I am fortunate; we did not experience any job loss in our household, nobody was hospitalized, we did not lose any immediate family members, and life just carried on, albeit a bit different.

For two years, my spouse and I have worked primarily from home. I have been going into the office once a week to shake things up a bit. He works two floors up and has commandeered one of the kids’ bedrooms for his daily routine. I have repurposed a storage closet in the basement. My co-workers include the hot water heater, the electrical panel, and a storage rack. Last year I put up some wallpaper to make my 10 x 5 space a bit more hospitable and make for a better video call backdrop. Occasionally, the dog joins me at my feet until I start my next call. She is very against any noise disturbing her siesta.

We have gone back and forth, asking whether we need more space, and we have decided the answer is no. Our working spaces are not glamorous, but we are making do; we have teenage kids that live with us every other week. We asked the question, why spend the money to get a bigger house? In 5 years, we will have too much space and a larger mortgage. We have made improvements to our current home, which is a small footprint, four bedrooms, three bath house. In a few years, we will be able to repurpose bedrooms into a guest room/office space.

One unexpected outcome of being together 24/7 is you don’t realize how little you must talk about that is new. Our relationship is still solid, we still enjoy each other company, and there are just a few more speechless hours because nothing is new. We plan vacations and date nights to get us out and give us something new to chat about.

Our life continues to be split between English one week and French with a bit of English the next week, aka weeks when we have the kids. It’s always a challenging week for me when we flip the language; usually, I understand, but by the end of the week, my brain is weary, and I am exhausted. When you are a stepparent to teenagers, you don’t have a say; it’s a glamourous way of saying you are the maid and the chef.

I promise to be more present and share more ideas over the months. I took on a personal development program in data analytics, so I will also write about that journey. My brain gets bored if I don’t continue to develop it, and let’s face it, you need to stay relevant in today’s economy.

You need to stay even more relevant as an Anglo in a province where the government is trying to get rid of you.