A post on working with little kids in the time of COVID

What day is it of this mess does it feel like to you? It generally feels like day 493 for me. When people ask me how I am, I joke (sort of) that I range from hanging in there (at my best) to my hair is on fire.

I've drafted this post a couple of times and then have run into a dead end because I've wanted to have a positive "we can do it!" message, and most days, the truth is, I feel like I'm juggling a lot of things and catching some balls I drop on toes, elbows, and knees. I'm doing it, but it isn't super pretty or very coordinated.

We each have very different personal, emotional, and mental challenges in dealing with our new normal. Some live alone and are dealing with how to mark the moments in time from a day alone; a lot of my team lives in small NYC apartments and are figuring out how to navigate a small space with their significant others, especially in a world where video calls are the new normal; others are trying to relearn geometry to home school their children while juggling the weirdness of this new normal with their kids. Each challenge unique, hard, and certainly different.

For me, my new normal two kiddos who are generally too young to understand what's going on; but also two kiddos who don't really understand why mom & dad can't be with them all day. Two kiddos who still need our presence and focus and attention and love. 

Jack is now VERY mobile and is super interested in power cords, power outlets, and used kleenex in the trash (none of which are interests that I am especially excited about - and for real, we have 90,000 toys, why the power cords and tissues?).

 

Charlie has taken a new interest in WebEx (WebEx is the new Sesame Street in our house) and demands to talk to my colleagues Gina and Aaron. We seriously wake up in the morning with "I need to talk to Gina, NOW!" Sometimes as we are prepping dinner I will realize Charlie has gone missing and will find her "typing" on my computer and she'll tell me "Mom, I need to work."

We are lucky in so many ways.

But, this is also hard in so many ways. I've written a couple of times about how schedules are a bit more crunched as a working parent - and this has become even more true now.

We have a teacher from our daycare doing a nanny share with our dear friends. She works from 9-5. The kids are at our house every other day. On the days that they are here, Johnny or I have to pause at 10 to get the two babies down for naps, pause at lunch to make lunch, pause to get the older kids down for naps, and pause for snack. So 9-5... isn't really 9-5. On the days when they aren't here, it is a race to pack in and schedule every square minute of my day. I've been trying to get up early before my kids wake up to get emails and work done. Pretty much every night as soon as I get whichever kid I am putting to bed down, I race back to my computer to get a couple of more hours in because the only time I have to actually do work is after 8pm.

Someone made a comment to me recently that I've been hard to get in touch with for the past couple of weeks, which is probably true. Another conversation that I had recently was the importance of alone time... and I can't really even tell you the last time that I was alone where I wasn't trying to race through something at my desk.

I know many couples who do not have the blessing of even having help from 9-5 and who are juggling little kids throughout the day while also trying to work. And seriously, WOW, they are amazing for getting anything done. Jack has had a couple of ear infections in the past couple of weeks, and on the days he is with us all day, I truly feel like I am doing a bad job at work and a bad job as a parent.


There are really good parts of this.

From a work perspective, I have really good, exciting, interesting work with great clients. I am busy at work, which is a blessing in uncertain and challenging times. 

Prior to COVID, I had been traveling a lot, more than I try to. I am a "busy" person, and there were very few weekends where we have no agenda, no plan, and nothing to do.

Since COVID began, we've done fun projects around the house. We've cooked, a lot and both Johnny and I love to cook - and it's been fun to inspire that same love in Charlie. We've gone on walks after work. We've planted a garden and Charlie is very interested in helping "her plants". We've sat in the back yard, raced each other, played hide and seek, played follow the leader, and really just have played.

So here's to another week in quarantine, and trying to focus on the good moments, and the special moments. And recognizing that this is pretty challenging - for everyone. And taking a moment to recognize the challenge, take a deep breath, and tackle another week.