As we are all living a new and quite unexpected version of our lives, I have really enjoyed reading some “Day in the Life” type posts from bloggers I follow. So in an effort to share a little bit of my family life with you, I offer you this little peek at our life lately.

Chris:

My husband of almost 18 years(!) is an engineer and spends most of his Monday-Friday hours in a cubicle in a large building staring at a computer screen (or three). His screen is black with lots of lines of teeny tiny code in a variety of colors. When I look at his monitor, it makes me go cross-eyed! I really don’t see how he does it.

He goes to lots of meetings, occasionally gets up to get water, use the bathroom, etc. but mostly he stays in his little box and works on a computer.

From time to time, he does this very same work, but from home. He calls into his meetings, still gets up to use the bathroom and get water, but otherwise, sits at a table or desk somewhere in our house and his days look very much the same as always. The biggest difference for him is that he gets a good two hours extra work done each day because he isn’t having to commute.

Normally, when he works from home, it’s a bit of a disruption (sorry, honey). It’s a novelty for him and so he enjoys the opportunities to visit with the kids and I throughout the day. I’m used to efficiently moving from one task to the next, with very minimal breaks/check-ins with the kids. When he gets up for one of his breaks, he wants to chat. Whereas I do love chatting with him, I enjoy it in the confines of our normal relationship – in the morning and at night, not in the middle of my workday. He never calls me from work and I almost never call him. When the work day starts, I put my head down and I work. So his being home and wanting all these little interactions during the day really breaks my stride. Don’t get me wrong, I love him and love all our time together and am considering it an enormous blessing to have so much time together, but I am an efficiency machine. When there is work to be done, I want/need to get my work done before I can move on to something fun. I don’t like interruptions.

I’m thankful so say that now that his working from home is our everyday normal, the interruptions are much less frequent. He has a number of meetings every day and I ask him to provide me with that information as soon in the day as possible so I can plan my own, flexible online meetings for different times – just in case there is a bandwidth shortage (not as critical as a toilet paper shortage, but equally as irritating). We try to take a walk break in the middle of the day, around his lunch time, which has been completely wonderful for both of us. We get out in the fresh air, move our bodies, take time to connect and it helps refresh us so we’re ready for the second half of the work day.

My husband loves to play board games. All games, any games, all the time. He and my son made a quick list the other day of most of our games and as we play them, they get a color-coded mark so we know we played it and we know who won. This was right after the list was created. We’ve played about 6 games now and I’m the only one without a mark on the board. 🙁

One of the things I love about having him home is that I can serve dinner whenever it’s ready. Traffic seems to be getting worse and worse around here (prior to quarantine life) and that makes planning dinner time kind of complicated. Some days he gets home in 30 minutes. Sometimes it takes an hour. As I said before, he’s getting way more work done in his day without having to commute, and I get to serve dinner when its ready. Win win.

My kids are teenagers so they’re beyond the super needy stage and are really good about leaving their dad alone to work. At first, it was kind of a novelty to have him at home, but that has faded quickly (What can I say? Kids are fickle.). They more or less leave him be. If he needs to be on a longer call or the kids need to be where he is currently working, then he’ll invade my office space and I graciously share. I’ll miss him terribly when this is all over and he has to go back to the office.

Luke:

My son, Luke, is in 9th grade and homeschooled with Classical Conversations (CC). We’re nearing the end of the CC portion of the school year and this particular year comes with a ton of projects. I love CC for many reasons, but one of them is that the academics are top notch. I feel like I never learned the things my kids are learning and it is setting them up so well for their later education and career.

His subjects this year are as follows (this is a classical education so the subjects might seem a little strange so I’ll give you the modern interpretation too):

• Logic – Algebra II
• Reasoning – Drama and Traditional Logic
• Research – Physical Science
• Exposition – American Literature
• Grammar – Latin
• Debate – Government and Economics

These are tough subjects and he has handled the workload like a champ. In the fall, he presented Patrick Henry’s “Give me Liberty or Give me Death” speech – from memory and in full costume. This spring, he will be giving a speech by C.S. Lewis.

His second formal debate is tomorrow. Of course, all of this is done virtually at this point. He has managed setting up times to meet with his team to prepare, which is no surprise because he’s worked independently for years. I honestly have no idea how to do most of the work that he’s doing. He’s such a mature and responsible kid. When he goes off to college, I am going to miss him like crazy, but I will not at all doubt his ability to take care of himself and make wise decisions. He may eat too much candy and stay up too late at night, but I think he’ll do great with all the important stuff.

He just recently achieved the rank of Eagle Scout and his dad and I could not be more proud. He’s been in Scouts since he was six and it’s been so fun to be a part of his Scouting journey. I’ve seen such a change in him from those early days where he was so shy he wouldn’t even talk to now running for Senior Patrol Leader, the highest level of leadership within the Troop. He’s preparing for the pinnacle of his Scouting career this summer – a 12 day backpacking trip to Philmont Scout Ranch. He’s even worked to pay for half the trip himself.

Luke manages his time beautifully, getting school work completed, doing his chores, taking time for friends and working a part-time job. He’s also learning to drive and has almost completed all the required hours to get his drivers license. In NC, they have a permit for a year and have to drive a certain number of hours, then are eligible for a license for independent driving, but still with some restrictions. He loves driving and is pretty good at it, but I hate driving with him. My dad takes him out most of the time and this gift is saving our relationship!

This first child of mine has a dry sense of humor and is quite sarcastic (he gets it from his mom), loves music, both playing the piano and listening to classic rock, is super competitive with games and can be a little demanding and a little too straight-forward at times, but he has a heart of gold, is sensitive and extremely thoughtful. He was the sweetest baby and toddler and still has that same sweetness about him. It just sometimes gets lost, but if I give him one of my mom looks, that sweet spirit comes back out.

His days currently don’t look all that different than they normally do except that his tennis season is permanently on hold, his work hours have been cut, there aren’t Scout meetings and he isn’t seeing his friends in person, but only online. I guess, those are a lot of differences!

Kate:

My daughter, Kate, is 13 and in 7th grade, also homeschooled with Classical Conversations. She’s in Challenge A, which is very aptly named. It is a challenge and such a huge step up in work load and difficulty from anything she has done before. I thought I ran a rigorous homeschool until my kids started the Challenge Program. They are learning to work independently, to learn how they learn best, to manage their time wisely, to be held accountable for the quality of their work by loving peers and an awesome teacher (I’m the teacher at home, she has another teacher on community day).

Kate’s subjects this year are as follows:

• Logic – Pre-algebra
• Reasoning – Analogies and Clear Reasoning
• Research – Natural Science, Science Fair and Biology
• Exposition – Newbury Literature and Persuasive Writing
• Grammar – Latin
• Debate – Cartography

A few highlights from her academic year are science fair, which is a big character builder for student and mom/teacher alike! It’s a lot of work, requires a lot of time management, culminates in learning how to present well and defend your work. It was a challenging and rewarding experience.

Before starting Classical Conversations, we used a curriculum called My Father’s World, which was also classical in structure, did a great job of stitching multiple subjects together and taught my kids things I never learned in all my many years of schooling. One of the years in that curriculum was called Countries and Cultures. The kids learned all the countries in the world, could identify all of them by the end of the year and we explored the culture of many countries. Classical Conversations takes that one step further by teaching these Challenge A students to not only memorize countries, but also their capitols and significant geographic features like rivers, mountain ranges and oceans, and also to draw it all. Yes, the final exam for cartography this year will consist of my daughter being given a large piece of blank paper and instructed to draw and label the entire world. The benefits of this are innumerable, but one of the most profound we’ve experienced is that my kids know where every country is. When we meet someone in the grocery store who is from Kazakstan, they know where in the world that is and by association, know the approximate climate, time zone and a little about the culture. That person they just met feels valued because some random stranger knows about them. It’s powerful.

Kate is my kid that is not at all like me. She’s the extravert to my introvert. She’s the free spirit to my rigid rule follower. She’s the confident public speaker to my terrified, hands shaking speaker. I often look at her and wonder where in the world she came from. But I know where she came from because she looks just like me.

We have that typical mom/teenage daughter relationship where one moment we’re best buds and the next moment we hate each other. Perhaps that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but you mothers of teenage girls know what I’m saying.

I love to get up early, get my day started, knock things off my list and then relax, if and only if everything is done to the absolute best of my ability. My daughter loves to sleep in, could care less about the details and would happily put off her work until one of her parents intervenes and makes sure she gets it done.

She is also the first one to offer a hug or a back rub when she senses you need it. When the kids were little, whenever Luke was hurt or sad, Kate would run and get his favorite stuffed animal, knowing that it would bring him comfort. She’s so compassionate. It’s just part of who she is.

Kate is creative and super outgoing and so this quarantine life is probably hardest on her. She is active in sports and other extra curricular activities and lives for any and every opportunity to be with friends. We’re doing what we can to get her time on video chat with her friends so she doesn’t feel so disconnected, but it’s hard. With four people all trying to work and play via video conference, we have to take turns. When I told her last week that the latest recommendation is to not play with neighbor friends, she was heart-broken and quite upset with us. It’s hard to disappoint your kids under the best of circumstances, but it’s especially hard right now when so much has already been taken away from them.

During our quarantine life, I’m working on getting her access to art lessons online. She’s really talented and one of the many career options on her list is being a Disney Imagineer. She could totally do it! So I’m trying to expose her to different types of art. This at home version of art classes is low commitment and she can try lots of different things.

Kate is so different from me that I sometimes have a hard time relating to her and I know I’m extra hard on her at times, but it’s because she has so much potential and she doesn’t always see it. She needs lots of encouragement and I need to remember to give it.

Me:

Well, here we are, a little update on me. In case you didn’t notice, this Life Lately has really been mostly just an introduction to us because our life is not terribly different now than it normally is. I’m a homebody and someone who doesn’t succumb to anxiety easily so I’ve taken to these changes pretty well. Spring is typically a very busy time for us with sports for both kids in full swing, an uptick in Scouting events, field trips, piano recitals, etc. With all of those things canceled or at least tabled for now, what was gearing up to be a high stress season is all of a sudden more relaxed.

I worked from home anyway, kids schooled from home normally and my husband worked from home enough before that this all isn’t too unusual. What is unusual is that we are never going out to see friends and family and we can’t just run any old errand we want or need to. My meal planning looks a lot different because I’m cooking and serving all the stuff that’s been buried in the freezer for months (or let’s be honest, much longer). I’m “making do” way more than cooking exactly what I choose to be cooking. For example, I could really go for some carnitas, fried plantains and pineapple mango slaw right now, but those recipes require ingredients I don’t currently have on hand. I go to the grocery store not with a list, but with gloves, extra sanitizing wipes and an open mind. I know I want protein and vegetables and then pick up any extra spices or special ingredients I can find or that strike me in the moment as a good choice (like chocolate). Then I get home with my food and make a meal plan based on what I could find. This is completely opposite of what I want to do, what I normally do, what I teach over and over. But it’s our reality now so instead of grumbling about it, I’m embracing it. And you can be sure that if I see chicken or eggs or toilet paper, I buy it.

I usually go to my local YMCA everyday for a workout class, so now my workouts are courtesy of the Peloton app (free for 90 days!!!) and lots of walking outside. The weather has been pretty great lately and everything is blooming so taking walks a couple times a day is a real treat.

 

 

 

As always, I’m working on lots of different things right now.

1. Keeping my family running smoothly, keeping everyone healthy, checking on my parents and getting their groceries and prescriptions for them are my top priorities.
2. Self-care is next. I must have time to myself every day or I will explode. Ok, maybe I won’t literally explode, but the results could be just as ugly. I’m getting lots of exercise and escaping to my room or office to be alone and read for about 30 minutes each day.
3. I run a paid membership, a place for people who want to manage their chronic health conditions with diet and lifestyle. I meet with them weekly and produce new recipes and other content for them weekly and monthly. I’m busy cranking out that content to hopefully get ahead so that the coming months will either be easier or have extra time for other projects.
4. I have been working on an online course for months now. It’s been slow-going because I’ve changed my focus a few times based on needs that I’m seeing in the community. Now that I’m not spending half my days in the car driving my kids to their activities, I have more time to focus on getting that course finished. It’s for people who want to manage their disease with functional medicine, but don’t know where to start. They are looking for some hope and encouragement and a way out of their current state of health. Some people are saying now is not the time to try to sell people something. I think now is the time to provide what people need. This knowledge I possess about how to overcome a very devastating disease and come out on the other side not only well, but thriving, is valuable. Very valuable and people need it. I’m trying to get this course done so I can get it out there. I know that when I was sick with undiagnosed Crohn’s disease, I would have paid anything for this information – for the hope that maybe I could stop this disease. I want to provide that to others.
5. Planning for the future. We took a huge cross-country road trip a couple summers ago and it was a lifelong dream come true and an absolutely amazing experience for my family. We’re hoping to do it again next year sometime, hitting up part of the country we didn’t get to last time. Planning such a trip is a crazy big undertaking, but I have more time now, so I’m trying to take advantage of it. If you have recommendations for places to see in the southern half of the US, do share. We’re definitely going to the National Parks in Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, but driving from the East Coast, we have a lot of leeway in the route we take, where we stop, what we see. We love to camp and will camp everywhere that is safe so if you’re a camper, share your favorite camping spots too.
6. Creating tons of recipes. I’ve really been in the mood to bake and so I’ve been baking up a storm. So far, I’ve made cinnamon, orange thumbprint cookies, Dream Bars (a caramely, coconut cookie bar) and sticky toffee pudding. We’re eating well thanks to Amazon’s delivery of 5 lbs. of almond flour!

And that’s about it. That’s what I’m up to, what my husband and kids are up to, how life is looking in our neck of the woods. In some ways, life is pretty much the same and in other ways, it’s really different.

I hope you’re feeling well and managing this new normal well. If you don’t already follow me on YouTube, head over there tomorrow night, Wednesday, April 1st at 5 PM EDT. I’ll be on live just chatting and cooking my dinner, whatever that may be. I’d love to see you!