Routine in Quarantine

I’m using the word “routine” very loosely in the title.

I took a stab at forecasting what it’d be like working from home with two toddlers. One detail that I forgot to add was that not only are we WFH with a one and three year old…we’re also selling our house.

Yeah.

So not only are we having to keep toddlers occupied somehow while we trade off working, we also have to keep them entertained in such a way as to not get the house that messy in the event we have a showing. A showing that may be happening (with only two hours notice) during a conference call. Showings that involve strangers walking around our home during a pandemic so we immediately have to disinfect the whole house after each one as soon as we walk back in.

Our days have looked like a lot of early mornings and late nights with kid wrangling in between. Megan and I look at each others’ schedules every night and figure out which calls we have and where we can tag out with the kids in blocks of time. We try to get up before the kids get up to get some quiet work done, do calls during the day, and finish deliverables late at night.

Weekends aren’t days off because they are open times to play catch-up on work. The routine on Saturday vs the routine on Wednesday looks the same to our kids. They aren’t going to daycare or church, mom and dad are working, and the only place they can go to outside the house is a large field near where we live to run around.

A New Reality For Now

This isn’t meant to be complaining though. This is just the new reality for us at the moment. It’s the new reality for a LOT of people right now. And honestly, while this has been challenging for us, this doesn’t hold a candle to the stress this #socialdistancing time is putting on other people. Healthcare workers are on the front lines, avoiding family to prevent infection when they get home. Other people have lost their jobs due to closures.

Megan and I are incredibly fortunate that both of us have jobs that allow us to work from home. I know I’ve been lucky to work with a team that has a good-sized empathy gland and realize that my best availability is during afternoon naps.

I guessed what our routine would look like a week ago. Here’s how things look now.

Almost Zero News Media

This isn’t a bash against the media or anything like that. News (especially local journalism) are incredibly important institutions. That said, the news was creating extra stress. About the middle of last week I realized that we were doing everything we could as a family to stay healthy (distancing, hand washing, regular disinfecting, etc) and that learning about the death toll updates wasn’t helping anything. We glance at news push notifications as they come in on our phones and that’s about it.

Once I eliminated watching the news or going down COVID-19 rabbit holes, I saw my stress level go down a lot.

Get Outside

Megan and I are now trading off mornings where we go for early runs. She had been super diligent about it but I had not. The runs have been great stress relievers for us both. It’s a good way to work out some steam, stay active to help our immune systems and keep a gauge on how healthy we are feeling.

Getting the kids out is key to everyone’s sanity. We don’t have a big yard so we go on walks to a large open lot near our house to let them run. We take snacks, a couple of toys and let them run. Their favorite pastime at the moment is finding sticks in the field and making piles.

Our three year old has definitely had more screen time than normal during this but youngest hasn’t. Honestly, it’d be easier if that was an option with him. Sitting still is not his forte at this point in life and most of our time is spent making sure he doesn’t try to jump off something, break something or steal his sister’s stuff. He’s 100% boy.

Realizing We’re All On The Same Team

This has been stressful for Megan and I but one thing I feel like we’ve done well is have each others’ backs in the process. We’ve done as well as possible trading off conference calls and taking some calls with our AirPods while having our phones on mute entertaining the kids. We’re both in the same boat and recognize that it’s not going to be easy for quite some time. This time isn’t an a snow day. It’s going to last for quite some time.

Other Observations

I also had two other observations. The first is time.

I thought time would slow down being at home and the days would feel longer. Quite the contrary. The weeks go by just about as fast as they do during any normal circumstances. Admittedly, the hours between 4-7 go by a little slower (the kids’ witching hour) but the weeks are moving fast. That’s making the social distancing a little easier to deal with.

Also, the kids. They have no idea anything is going on. All they know is that they are playing with mommy and daddy during the days more, that they’re having to wash their hands way more than they used to and that we can’t go to Fernbank and see dinosaurs right now. That’s it. This is just another week for them and it’ll be a time they won’t remember at all. And that’s how I’d like to keep it.

They aren’t going to remember the economic affects of this, why we get takeout more or the political mess this will be. All they’ll remember is how they felt at home. And that’s what matters most right now.

How about you all? What’s been the hardest part of distancing? What’s been a nice surprise coming out of it?