All We Can Do -Working From Home With Kids: Part 1

So, you’re working from home now. And you have kids. Noisy, dirty, attention-loving kids. How does this work? I have no idea. Check back next week, when I’ve been through some trial and error, because right now, it’s a mystery to me.

For reference, I am currently required to make about 4.5 hours of phone calls from home right now. I have three kids at home, two of which need almost constant supervision. (Not an exaggeration) I could put on Disney+ and call it a day but… that’s not how this is going to happen. My house would be burned to the ground.

Let me get real for a second, I love my job (no seriously, not just because my supervisor might see this…). But… I love my kids more. Exponentially more. I have to prioritize my time. My kids can remember this COVID-19 social distancing time as one where Mommy was stressed out and tucked away in the corner of the kitchen on the phone for 4 hours OR they can remember playing outside in the yard with me, making English Muffin pizzas for lunch, and coloring pictures to hang on the walls. Easy choice.

So that leads me to the problem. How am I, one singular person, supposed to suddenly homeschool three children and be fully productive working from home? It’s impossible. This situation is impossible. All I can possibly do is the same thing I tell my children and my client’s everyday. All I can do is my best.

I am not a teacher, but I love literature and I can surely run a storytime for three.

I am not a scientist, but I did order a terrarium kit on Amazon that even has dinosaurs.

I am not a physical therapist, but we have a trampoline.

I am AWFUL at math, but I can bake a mean batch of brownies (measurements, duh, it counts).

Somewhere in between those memory makers, I’ll get some work done. Not only because the bills need to be paid, but because I truly enjoy the work I do. I will schedule my time wisely, I will make room for errors, and I will adapt to the needs of myself, my children, and my clients.

I am not perfect, but I don’t have to be (and neither do you). Today, we ate too much junk food and watched Frozen 2 and Octonauts and Rise of Skywalker and didn’t learn a thing. Tomorrow, I will do my best to work from home and I will do my best to teach my kids something; even it just ends up being that all we can do on any given day is our best. 

(Check back for Part 2 where we most likely find out that my best is mediocre.)