It has been a couple weeks, back to work, mid-pandemic, on the heels of a spring break shaped in the same way. At work I have seen the commitment of the educators around me to learning and developing a continued education program for their students. This is a herculean feat and as things change day to day with the dictates of the pandemic, the plane is truly being built in the sky. On the home front, attempting to home school the two oldest while keeping the two youngest at bay and entertained, while trying to work from home is an utterly impossible feat. Catherine attempted, we collectively lasted two days and then needed to bring the younger two to their daycare. Thankfully they are the only ones there. This situation is but a glimpse of the complications and stress added to our lives; I know that households throughout our network, family, and community have faced massive challenges and upheaval. It’s important to go easy on ourselves and know that we are not working remotely but trying to work from home during a crisis; we are not home schooling, we are trying to help our children learn something and have a sense of normalcy from home during a crisis; we are unsure, we are worried, we are stressed and we are trying our best.

Honestly, Catherine and I have been doing a pretty good job of forgiving one another for our stressed out moments and instances of disagreement. We don’t dwell, look for a laugh about it in order to move forward. I worry though that the stress builds up in the kids too. The feeling of being cooped up, the waning patience with one another in the house, it’s hard and you can only hope that the less than ideal parenting over this time does not have a lasting impact. Catherine and I go through all the ups and downs and we make sure the kids see the restoration from the downs so that they get a sense of how to cope together and be forgiving of one another. The long term impact of this situation will take some time to decode. We try and be flexible, recognizing our stress is theirs. Our solution is always more outside and put the devices down. Disconnect and connect.