Make sure to scroll to the bottom for an exciting opportunity for your kids’ creations to be featured on ACTIVEkids.com!
Like many parents out there, my spouse and I are juggling a career, a small business and a couple of kids, aged 14 and 11. My day is normally filled with meetings, emails, bookkeeping, homework, errands, after school activities and a social gathering here and there with friends if we are all lucky enough to all get sitters on the same night. We live in warm climate on the Gulf Coast, so my 70-something parents travel from Boston and live in my house for a couple months each winter to be with their only grandkids. We love having them every year; I love all the cooking.
Enter COVID-19. It should be no surprise that panic was my first reaction to the text message I received from my husband 2 weeks ago.
I work from home most days when I am not in our Dallas office. My favorite time of day is early morning when the kids have left for school and my busy schedule has yet to start. I sit at my desk and carefully plan my day, every minute neatly accounted for on my colorful calendar that I have pridefully organized.
Needless to say, the thought of having both kids home and trying to keep them focused on virtual school for the next couple of months while trying to be an effective senior leader at ACTIVE in the midst of a pandemic seemed daunting. My parents are also here for the long haul. Driving back to Boston is not an option right now.
The first week into our new arrangement went something like this…
And this:I know most of you can relate in some manner. Some parents have far greater challenges. I hear those babies on the conference calls and dogs barking and doorbells. How are we all going to make it through this crisis without PTSD?
But, why was I trying to solve this problem alone? Kids are the most creative, out-of-the-box thinkers on the planet. So I asked them, “What should our new routine be, and how can you help me at work?” We agreed on a morning chore list and a school schedule, then hobby time. My 11-year-old loves to draw, as most kids do, so she decided that my office needed more art. I agreed that being surrounded by her artwork would enhance my work-at-home experience. She zealously accepted the task, and an hour later she proudly came back to me with a drawing that I will keep in my office forever. She said that she will help me work after virtual school is over. I was so touched by how she wanted to be part of my day.
It’s not perfect—and some days will be better than others—but we’ve found a way not just to stay at home but to be together.
How are your kids being creative while stuck at home? We want to see their art! Scan it in or take a picture of their best creation, and send it to activeart@activenetwork.com with your child’s first name only and their age, and it just might be featured on ACTIVEkids.com!
Be well, stay safe and stay ACTIVE!
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