The wonderful woman who deep cleans our house every Wednesday calls my dog Bailey. The dog’s name is Olivia. I don’t know when this began, but I’ve never corrected it. It never mattered….until now. I have 2 boys, 7 and 3, that are now home when she arrives and the lengths that I go to avoid the correction in the dog’s name is a good example of what working from home with 2 kids and navigating this new normal really is.
I started this work from home process with a strict schedule, and I am not a scheduler. I’m an impulsive, go-with-the-flow kinda gal. That doesn’t work in quarantine. So, we do schoolwork, we have craft time, we play a lot outside, and I have headphones on and contribute to meetings throughout. I even found a nook in the kitchen to be on video for calls that the kids can’t find me in.
Here’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned: this is the most beautiful time spent with my boys that I will probably ever have. I realized today that I could live on the swoop of their little noses forever. Listen to their laugh, be there when they ask for a dance party, watch them jump up and down in the street when they finally get the hang of riding their bike, and kiss every scratch and bump their rowdy little legs get. We will all go back to work eventually. I’ll go back to traveling each week and immersing myself in the day’s firedrill but I hope this time changes me forever. I want to take back with me 1. A good hard belly laugh every day 2. Learning something new with my boys 3. Fresh air is so good for the soul 4. Take time each day to remember your priorities and act accordingly.