The Good Things

As strange as it is, when and if our lives began to return to normal, there are some aspects of social distancing and all that comes with it that I will remember fondly.

Things have slowed down for me as it relates to work, although not too much.  What I have enjoyed, though, it not going into work most days.  Working from home has been different but not necessarily own a bad way.  I'm camped out in my office upstairs.  I can turn on some music, close my door, and work uninterrupted for the most part.  That, of course, is unlike what happens when I go to the office, where I'm constantly interrupted throughout the day.

It's not so easy for Jude, I don't think.  Her "office" is at the dining room table downstairs.  She's on conference calls throughout the day, which I know is exhausting.  The challenge she and her team face - how to manage daycare during a healthcare crisis and under a stay at home order - is immense and unprecedented.  No blueprint and no easy answers, for sure.  I admire her for how hard she works every day, how much she cares, and for how much of herself she puts into her job with the State of Tennessee's Department of Human Services.

While I've missed coaching baseball and watching the boys play soccer terribly, I have enjoyed the down time - the family time - that necessarily accompanies the boys not having any extracurricular activities.  That's lead to relaxed dinners at home followed by movies afterwards.  As a family, we've watched several series on Netflix or Amazon Prime - Sunderland 'til I Die; All or Nothing:  New Zealand All Blacks; and Formula 1:  Drive to Survive.  We even watched both nights of Wrestlemania 36, much to Jude's dismay.

We've played board games on weekends.  Jude and I won the first round of the "Family Olympics," but it as close.  Closing ceremonies and Opening Ceremonies (for round two) were yesterday on Easter Sunday.  The boys took the early lead in the gold medal count by beating Jude and me 3 out 5 games in UNO.

The boys and I - especially Joe - have played a lot of Trouble, and I almost always win.  It's a sentimental favorite of mine amongst all of the board games, mostly because my mom used to play it with me every day in California before I walked across the street for kindergarten at Kling Elementary School.  Good memories.

Joe finally beat me in Battleship and took the title of Admiral away from me.  He had been so close to winning in the past and he finally took me late one afternoon last week, as Jude and JP played badminton in the backyard.

Across the street from us, our neighbors, Chip and Heathie Cox, graciously allowed the boys to use their basketball court.  It turns out they're hunkered down in Alabama with their children and Jude reached them by e-mail.  That's been a godsend, as the boys can walk across the street and shoot the basketball while Jude and I work.  The boys and I have played "around the world" almost every day and JP and Joe have gotten quite good at it.  JP and I have been playing a lot of "horse," too.

Maybe my favorite thing to do has been listening to Jude read Harry Potter to the boys.  She's reading to Joe but JP can't help but listen in.  Last night, the three of them sat together on the couch as she read and I watched (and listened) from the kitchen, as I made dinner.

In a time like this, that's all you can really do, I guess.  Keep your family close, have faith that things will be okay, and enjoy the time together.