Social Distancing Week 1: Tales of Working From Home

What a difference a week makes! I was supposed to be recovering from my spring musical this week, basking in the sense of accomplishment and excitement from having pulled off a production with 150 5th and 6th graders.

Then the world changed.

Friday afternoon, my principal entered my classroom with a look that told me things were going to get weird. I had an inkling. I had been receiving emails all week about sending in all of our music events for review and suspending additions to our performance calendars.

By Friday, the District decided to cancel all assemblies and events that involved 250+ people. We brainstormed all weekend about how to reschedule or possibly livestream the program.

By Sunday, the schools were closed. I didn't even say goodbye to the students who had put their hearts and souls into our program.

At church that Sunday, the last Sunday before online only services became a thing, we prayed collectively about the virus.

"Dude, that reminded me of the scene in Beneath the Planet of the Apes," I said to my husband, Dan, after the service.

"The one with the nuclear bomb! I thought the exact same thing!" he said.

All of a sudden, Dan and I were both working from home. Well, Dan was the only one officially working. I was spending lots of time watching for work updates and reading articles online.

During our first week of working from home, I accidentally walked in on him during a teleconference. I hid my face and ducked out, embarrassed.

The whole situation reminded me (a bit too much) of that video where the kids sneaked in during the father's BBC interview,  and the mom flew through the door and swept the intruders away like a freakin' superhero.

Later that day, I warned Dan I was going to practice some music.

"I’m closing this door because I might get loud."

Dan looked at me over the top of his glasses, "That won’t help."

After I walked in on him during phone calls a couple more times, we came up with some signals.

Dan told me about a coworker who worked from home a lot and wore a company hat as his "busy signal."

"When he had his hat on, it meant he was working and couldn't talk to his wife," Dan said. "Maybe if you don’t hear music or a podcast, assume I'm on the phone or at a teleconference. Enter at your own risk and only if you want to be embarrassed on camera again."

The next afternoon, I made him some coffee and left it outside the door.

"You can bring me coffee. The guys at my meeting would think that's really nice of you."

"I can't figure out your rules!" I exclaimed. "Do you want me to interrupt during meetings or not? Or only if I have coffee?"

We decided that if Dan closed the door, it meant he was in a meeting. If the door was cracked or open, it was safe to enter.

This article, written by a friend of mine, helped Dan and I establish our at home routine. I jokingly told my author friend, "It may have saved our marriage . . . LOL."

"But it's not that big of a deal if you walk in while I'm in a meeting," Dan said. (The first tip in the article is "give . . . your loved ones grace.")

 
Around Tuesday, I started posting Facebook Live singalongs for the kids.

These mini singalongs started out as a thinking-of-you message, especially to my students who were supposed to be in the middle of the much anticipated Tech Week for our spring musical.

The singalongs also kept me connected to my friends, to their little ones, and to my current and former students and families.

Big time bonus: My nephews have been watching everyday from Twin Falls.

"So fun!! Des loved when you got really fast at the end, haha! He also said, 'Is Uncle Dan still asleep?'" my sister-in-law commented after I posted my first singalong.

"Tell Desmond that Uncle Dan wanted to sit and stare at me from the couch," I replied. "I made him go in the other room."

And that concludes my first week of social distancing. Before I go, I want to give a shout out to all of the frontline workers who can't work from home. Let's not forget, they are riding into battle everyday.

Wash Your Hands

Don't Touch Your Face

Get Some Exercise

Keep Singing!

STAY-AT-HOME Week 2: Tales From the Outdoors  
STAY-AT-HOME Week 3: Our New Routine
STAY-AT-HOME Week 4: This Week, I Clean My Own House
STAY-AT-HOME Week 5: Dan and I Are Like Banksy  
 

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