Our lives right now are all about staying home as much as possible, keeping our family and ourselves safe, and trying to contain our worry in a worrisome time. H4TG staff are right there with you trying to figure out how to navigate this new daily (temporary) normal! We'd like to share with you some of the ideas that have worked for us when it comes to de-stressing, figuring out how to work from home efficiently, managing kids, working in some sort of fun time, and more.
I have to say I am the last person who would have thought this ‘stay-at-home’ order would have come to this point. A couple of weeks maybe yes, but months? Call me an optimist, an idealist, or nonchalant but whichever way, here we are -- and it sure is different! Work-wise, I don’t mind working from home much and that silly laptop computer stand my husband bought me for Christmas, which I thought was stupid and an eyesore, I now use every single day! It really helps my forehead to not look 9 inches high during the 6 hours of Teams meetings we have every day. I can sit back more during these meetings, show the parts of my house to my colleagues that DON’T have laundry piled up or the extra coffee cups and sanitation station that looks like a scene from Grey’s Anatomy that my husband inspired.
When my husband works from home, we must be in different rooms. I cannot focus and also hear him talking in the background. I find I am micro-managing him, which is ludicrous because I actually have no idea what the hell he’s talking about. He is the one freaking out about COVID, he’s the one reminding the kids to wash their hands and take their temperature. I am the one trying to ease his fears, while he is the one focused on keeping us safe.
The kids? Okay, they are not kids. They are adults, but during quarantine, they are TOTALLY kids. A room in our house once used for arts and crafts, crayons, stickers, and finger painting became the place for ping pong and playing music as they grew up and attended high school. Now, at 18 and 21, they have recreated that art area and are painting on canvases, looking up album covers on their phones to replicate, and really taking their time too, 'cause, well you know, we got nothing but time! Also, my ‘kids’ have been playing board games, cards, puzzles, old Wii games like Mario Kart and 100-pin bowling. They invite mom and dad to join and relish in the idea that we totally suck at these even though we totally think we are going to kick their young little butts because we grew up on Pac-man. We have been playing a lot of pool and card games, having bonfires, and even painting the deck (which looks SO good), and offering more snuggling to our elderly beagle Bailey, who thinks this whole quarantine at home thing is as priceless as a Pupperoni snack.
No one expected to be here, and while so many suffer from health issues, the sudden financial crisis, and loneliness, I feel very blessed for what we have during this moment in history, which will be remembered for generations to come. I wonder how our world will be different after all of this. For the most part, my family’s COVID experience, so far, has been a pleasant one. We spend more time talking together, laughing together, eating together, and sharing our days – together. In this world of being apart from everyone else, our together is alright by me.
-Vicki Vawter, Program and Community Outreach Manager