As with most everyone else in the county / state / world, the last 10 days have been completely alien for us. We never really went out as a family often anyways, other than to visit family or go on hikes, so this social distancing / almost-lockdown is not a big deal.

Also, I have been used to working remotely – my current employer allows us in-office folks to work remote 2x per week and we even had a 3 month long stint last fall where most of us were 100% remote due to construction. But on those days, my wife and two young daughters (5 and 3) would leave before 7:00 AM, and my sons (12 and 8) would be off to school by 8:50 AM.

I would then have almost 6 hours of zero interruptions from anyone to do my work. Even when my school aged kiddos would get home after that, they are mostly self-sufficient.

This is… way different. Trying to stagger our working start times AND guide our children through their days in a graceful and compassionate manner AND get work done AND manage the household chores AND spend quality time at the end of the day with these same people that I love AND maintain sanity is a tall task.

The girls still need lots of constructive and learning time throughout the day. This is where my wife – who was a teacher in another life – really shines. They still need their naps… even as they rage against them every day. Thank goodness for melatonin, storytime and Hammock.

The boys still need to be directed and motivated to complete their schoolwork and doublecheck with all of their teachers that they are receiving and understanding all of their assignments. Not that we didn’t have an involved stake in our kids’ schoolwork before, but now with us as the time-wardens of their day entirely, the weight is much heavier.

The family in general still needs time together outside of the house, walks around our neighborhood – it’s pretty exurban / rural so we are able to keep distance from others – have been excellent in relieving the growing cabin fever.

We still need to be able to do our work efficiently – and for all intents and purposes – overperform in this time of uncertainty. As luck would have it, my wife and I both work in industries that have giant question marks on their future – oil / natural gas and events / ticketing. We have no illusions about the fact that based on how long this crisis lasts, there are going to be sizable layoffs in both of our companies. So now, more than ever we both feel the need to prove ourselves even more valuable in our respective roles.

So while all of this is a big change from how life was 2 weeks ago – I am not complaining. The thought of being on lockdown for the next 7-10 weeks is overwhelming at first, even now as we are only 1 week of social distancing in. With that being said, I know that this whole situation will only bring us closer as a family. That is the biggest thing that is able to drown out a lot of my concerns (about job loss, rental units going sideways, 401k assets crashing, etc.) and give me hope for the future.