By Ryan Munn

There are a lot of new situations I’ve found myself in while both my wife and I work from home with our two children, ages five and two.  For the most part over the last three weeks, we’ve been able to juggle each other’s conference calls and take turns watching the kids while trying to stay productive and focused.  

The “mute” function on our phones is a much-used feature as our 2-year-old is quite unpredictable.  We definitely have to be strategic and get creative.  Sometimes we’ll jump on the computer before they’re up or stay on a little later to finish something if there were extra distractions during the day.  For the most part we make it work! 

There are a lot of times we just need to occupy their time, so I don’t feel like I’m a better parent for it. We’re doing the best we can and try not to beat ourselves up over it too much. We try to have them do different things like play with playdough, color, practice writing, but their go to is the iPad. Aiden will play on the iPad and watch YouTube videos all day if we let him! He’s definitely getting more screen time during the week, but on the weekend that gets squashed. We’ll go out for a walk, have the kids ride scooters, and play games with them.

There are a lot of positives too.  For one letting the kids sleep in instead of dragging them out of bed to go rush off to daycare.  I’ve enjoyed having the kids come downstairs and give me hugs every morning and they really love being in their PJ’s 24/7.  

We have a little more quality time with them but not a lot. During lunch one day, we planted sunflower seeds, and the other day they sprouted. Another day we made gingerbread men that were left over from a Christmas project that never saw the light of day.  Needless to say, the kids are enjoying more time around Mom and Dad too.

I know there are so many people that don’t have this freedom and are either on the front lines helping the sick, or supporting the economy during this difficult time, or even worse are out of a job.  I feel very fortunate to be in my position and hope things get back to normal sooner rather than later.  

I’m gardening as my stress reliever, though it’s not too much different from every other Spring season. Although I might actually kill my plants from over-watering and giving them too much attention!

Here’s hoping everyone stays safe and that we all pull through this together.