My new coworker started mid-March and I am just not sure he’s going to cut it. He demands waffles and bananas every morning, screams “apple juice” whenever he takes a drink of water (or anything for that matter), throws a fit if things don’t go his way and takes long afternoon naps when he really should be working. He doesn’t get much work accomplished, but I guess that’s what you should expect from an almost 2-year boy.
Like many of you, my state is under quarantine while we battle COVID-19. And, while I am no stranger to working from home, I now have my husband working in our small, two-bedroom condo, as well. He works as a customer service rep for a music technology company, answering customer calls from our bedroom office, while I take over our dinning room table. Our son, also known as “the boss” these days, as he truly rules this home office, is no longer attending daycare and has been running around the house stir crazy. We all are, really.
It has been a huge adjustment for us all. I have always needed complete silence to focus on something. Schoolwork as a child, and now, writing and editing content for Aircraft Maintenance Technology. As you can imagine, these days, my office is anything buy silent. My husband is cooped up in our little bedroom with a desk in the corner instead of going into the office, talking to customers about their needs with a screaming toddler in the background: “aaaaaaple juice!” And poor Landon; he asks to see his daycare teachers almost daily and whines when I say that we can’t. He misses his extended daycare family and his schedule is upside down.
But on the flip side, I have been given the opportunity to see my little man grow so much in the past month already. His vocabulary is exploding, he’s learning letters and numbers and colors. He is truly soaking in everything he sees and hears. I am grateful to have the chance to experience so much of his development right now. Even if it means waking up early to get started before “mama” rings boisterously down the hallway, doing circle time with his daycare buddies right before my work conference call, stirring his lunch on the stove between answering emails, kissing boo boos while taking a call from a coworker, listening to Sesame Street songs in the afternoon, doing his school projects between my own responsibilities, working after he’s in dreamland and even working on Easter Sunday (today).
Even though Coronavirus has put an immense amount of stress on us all professionally and personally, I ask you to look for the good. Appreciate the extra time with your families, even if it means a late night at your computer. Try to stay positive and use this time to create an even stronger bond with your spouse, your kids, yourself. We may be alone, but we are alone together.
Stay healthy,
Jennifer
