Quiet there are other people

The survivors guide to being homeless: part 4

Is there anything fun about living in a bedsit? Probably all the fun you have trying to be quiet because your neighbours hear every breathe you take. If you have been out seeing a friend the most fun is trying to get you, the buggy, the baby and the bags in the house up the stairs round the corner and into your room without disturbing everyone else. Many a silent giggling fit has been started by me almost tripping up the stairs on the fourth trip as I tried to silently put down a buggy.

Living in close proximity to others can be difficult. This is not like flat sharing when you are at uni. Mainly because generally you opted to live in a flat share with people from the uni. You kith not know them yet but you will meet them and for better or worse enjoy their company. A bedsit is totally different. There you are living in the smallest room in the free world with all your earthly possessions and then you realise that your neighbours who you don't know just said bless you cause they heard you sneeze. 

So silence and quiet become a commodity to be bargained with day and night. Everyone I happen to live with are very young and me well I may as well be ancient. Don't you find that you feel young right up until you spend too much time with a teenager well that's how I live. The one lesson living like this has taught me is that do unto others can be the most challenging words. My husband always reminds me that even though they are not doing it we would like them to so we must set the example. You have no idea how difficult this is. Most days I just want to stand and scream but then I remember it's not just me. I have a little boy who is watching to see how I handle adversity and learning how to deal with it himself. If I want to raise the kind of young man who is kind and considerate and loving then I need to demonstrate those things daily. 

Living in a bedsit provides us many challenges and being quiet is definitely one of them. However it also provides many opportunities to learn new skills like not stepping like an elephant :0) No seriously the opportunity is there to practice all those things we tell others to do especially children like be kind to others no matter what. Let me tell you I have a new found respect for the kids that actually manage this as it's not easy. As for the adults well we are not often challenged that way because we live in our own space and can block others out but when you share your space with others then it becomes real.