Values of human connection

Mukta Munshi

They say it takes 21 days to form a habit. I think it is true in my case. In the early days of Covid-19, the situation was confusing, panicky, scary, tense and uncertain — all put together at once for everyone including us. We, personally, had so many questions — should we cancel our India trip planned during Easter break? Should we pre-order furniture (study tables and chairs keeping in mind WFH for both for my husband and me)? Why are they not shutting the schools (I have a 12-year-old)?

Being in London, how much Indian groceries should I buy and stack at home? How will my parents and in-laws cope up with social distancing and lockdown back in India? How will we engage with each other peacefully under the same roof for so long?

But I suppose, with passage of time and new guidelines from the government and the quickly changing world around us all of it started to make sense. The airlines promised (not fulfilled yet) to refund our tickets. Schools moved to Virtual Learning Environment via Sharepoint, PE lessons through YouTube and Music  lessons via Zoom. Furniture was delivered (a bit late though) and was a learning experience for my son to put it together (it was from IKEA). Husband started helping in household chores and took initiative for garden improvement project. House is much organised and housemates are calmer and we have eventually found peace with one other.

When the dust finally settles, we will realise how little we need, how much we have and most importantly, the values of human connection.

Munshi is an HR professional presently living in London