Post by cricketwife on Mar 27, 2020 20:24:19 GMT -5
So to balance out our woes, what are you grateful for? What positives can you share?
I'm very grateful that H and I both have jobs. We have money to buy all the groceries we need for a week and avoid the stores as much as possible. I'm grateful that we have a home with a yard so that we can play outside.
Tomorrow my workout friends are doing a video call with wine. It will be nice to see them and connect.
I'm grateful that I was able to reduce my work load so that I can cope a bit better.
As much as I'd love a second to myself, I'm so grateful for my family. Even as an introvert, I can't imagine 6 weeks in isolation at home alone if I were still single.
I'm grateful that we are about to have some sunny weather.
I'm grateful that I no longer have to wake up at the crack of dawn. I mean, I'm supposed to, because I work and now homeschool and all that. But I definitely do not.
Post by InBetweenDays on Mar 27, 2020 20:53:55 GMT -5
I honestly can't complain relative to what others are going through. H and I both have very flexible jobs - I work 50% time for a large university and H works for himself. So it was very easy for us to transfer to a 100% work from home setup. We're financially stable, and our kids are old enough (11 and 13) to be able to be somewhat in charge of themselves yet young enough that missing school won't be detrimental to their learning.
I'm very extroverted though so being locked up just the 4 of us has been... difficult. I'm grateful that I have reconnected (via FaceTime and Zoom) with friends from high school that I haven't spoken to in many years. And I'm grateful that the weather has been relatively nice so we can get out for regular runs and walks.
Post by scribellesam on Mar 27, 2020 20:59:59 GMT -5
I’m grateful for my H’s job; although he is in a hospital so our risk is higher, we don’t have to worry about paying bills or job insecurity right now which is a relief.
I’m grateful to be home with my kids, and I’m especially glad that my autistic 7yo is handling all the change so well. Extremely grateful we spontaneously adopted a puppy the weekend before everything shut down and our whole lives were put on hold. She has been an excellent distraction and bright spot during all this even if she did pee on my new rug several times.
H and I are still both getting paid. That's a big one.
I'm losing weight, 3 lb. in 10 days. Turns out when everything you buy at the grocery store is carefully planned to last as long as possible, and you don't buy snacks, and you can't go out to get them, a lot less calories get consumed. Pretty draconian way to lose the baby #2 weight, but here I am.
I can't take my dog to work (it's against our firm's lease), but now I can bring my work to my dog!
It has pushed me to set up a workable desk set up at home, so maybe even when we are back to normal I might WFH a day a week or so. That would be nice. You know, when I can do it alone (with dog).
It has pushed our firm to set up our admin staff to be able to WFH, so next winter when it snows, we will have more workable support, and people won't have to use PTO for snow days. They can also STAY TF HOME when they have colds more readily, and not bring them to the office, since they will be better equipped to telework.
I am getting to spend more time with DS now than I have since maternity leave. Just this week he learned to clap and to wave, and he's also newly hugging. I'm dying at his cuteness. (He is by far my easier kid right now.) He is still struggling to crawl, he has hyper mobile hips and is having trouble getting everything to work right, and I feel a little guilty that I'm not pursuing PT for him right now. But he is super happy, and is army crawling around, and rocking on his knees. Maybe he will get it on his own after all, we'll see. He will be 10m next week and I do really love the extra time with him.
I am pumping far less (because I am nursing more). DOWN WITH THE PUMP!
I do like having DD home. We're having conversations, she's learned new words and concepts. I thought I wanted her to do extra work but I think I'm just going to keep teaching her real life stuff as we encounter day to day things. She's doing a good job being a big sister.
And DS does have his adorable moments. He's such a bossy little brother to DD!
My husband got an email that his firm will not be laying anyone off in 2020 so that's a huge sigh of relief. I can continue functioning in "don't care" mode at my office as long as he stays employed.
I also like not having to think about my patients. A large part of my mind feels free. I know they're important but they know how to find us if they need me. I'll start looking at the schedule sometime next week to see who really needs to be seen sooner than later since many are saying an April 17 return date may not happen in our state. And even when we do reopen, everyone is panicked about all the aerosols we general as dentists.
Post by ilikedonuts on Mar 27, 2020 21:53:08 GMT -5
I’m grateful that my husband’s job is secure.
I’m grateful that I can wake up when I want every day and it’s ok that we don’t start schoolwork until whenever we want. My kids are literally the last car dropped off before the bell every day and we were tardy... a lot 😂
Post by minniemouse on Mar 27, 2020 22:39:36 GMT -5
We still have jobs. We are saving money by not going anywhere. We have TP. Our fridge is full of food. My kids finally understand that they can’t have play dates and have stopped asking for them. They are playing together a lot more- it’s adorable. It is nice not having to wake anyone up in the morning.
I am deeply grateful that my 2-year-old has had a language explosion in the last few weeks so there is much less whining now that he can say more things. That makes this much more bearable.
I am so thankful our home daycare is opening just for us and has socially distanced. I feel guilty sending them, but everyone is happier. They go there three days a week and are home with us while we work two days a week.
I have never been more grateful for the internet. Cosmic Kids yoga, Cincinnati Zoo videos, ABC Mouse...miracles, all of them!
I’m immensely grateful for my amazing husband who has taken on the responsibility of caring for our son and being his teacher all day while I still have to go into work.
I’m grateful that we have a pool and that the weather has been nice enough for C to swim in it this early.
I’m grateful for the quiet neighborhood we live in and that C can safely play outside.
I’m grateful that we have a strong network of friends and family, who even though they are far away, continue to reach out to check on us.
I’m very grateful that DH and I are still employed and are able to mostly WFH.
I’m thankful that DH and DS drive me to my office on days that I go so I can avoid public transportation.
No more 2.5-3 hours of commuting a day!!
DS is absolutely LOVING being at home. DH didn’t have any time off for a paternity leave, so this will be the longest time we have had together as a family. We realize we will never have this much time together again so we are trying to enjoy everyday.
DS is loving his bike and we just ordered him a scooter. He never used it before because he prefers playgrounds.
The big plus is we have SO much more time with DH now. He is still working 10-11 hour days but he's doing it from home so DD and I see him every morning and evening now. He gets 2-3 hours of his day back now which has made a big difference for his mental state.
I am grateful DH still has a job. I am not sure how long it will last but for now he is safe.
I am grateful DD is rolling with all the changes so well. She misses school, she misses her sports, she misses her friends, but at the end of every day she also tells us how glad she is to have more time with us.
I am grateful for texting and Kids Messenger so DD and I can stay in touch with our friends.
Oh and Susie reminded me - I had a sudden end to pumping! I'm not pumping since I'm home, and just started to wean this week. I anticipate being completely done with pumping and not having to do it once I return to the office. Yay! So happy that phase is over.
We both have jobs. Our family is healthy. We can afford to weather this storm and buy food and pay for luxuries to help us during this time. Our jobs are being understanding. My kids also genuinely enjoy playing with each other - having kids 15m apart wasn’t always easy but right now it’s such a blessing.
Post by lovelyshoes on Mar 28, 2020 9:47:06 GMT -5
Spending time with both my kids. It’s so nice not to rush in the morning out of the house with 3 bags and drive in traffic. Love seeing the kids play together, dinner as a family every night. It’s been hard with everyone’s schedules and now we are just here. Having more time to try new recipes. I love cooking.
Lost weight, but it’s all from stress. At least it’s budging finally. Have a little more time to do my skincare routine again. I miss my old self and want to get back into it the way I was before.
I reached out to people i haven’t talked to in a bit and that was nice. Made a mental note of those who didn’t reach out during this time and was even more glad that I decided to let those go last year. Only keeping people around that are true and genuine.
I'm grateful I have the ability to teach my son and help him with his schoolwork. I'm grateful our income hasn't changed yet, and that we have savings. My friend's mom is hospitalized with this horrible virus and there was talk of moving to a ventilator. I'm enormously grateful that malaria drug seems to be working and she might be turning a corner. I'm grateful that we have a home and a little yard. I'm grateful grocery stores are plentiful here and people are getting almost everything they need when they want it. I'm grateful my husband hasn't contracted it, and that his hospital has supplies that they are watching closely but not yet sacrificing safety.
I'm grateful that my kid is learning some new skills relating to independence (she is 9 for reference). She is having to get more meals on her own and she has also started staying home by herself for small periods of time with no problem. DH and I like taking long walks but she doesn't really so she will stay home while we get out for adult chats. It's only 30 minutes or so a few times a week but has been a lifesaver for me.
Post by humpforfree on Mar 28, 2020 22:19:53 GMT -5
Super grateful for H’s job- it’s secure and he can easily do it from home (mostly). So grateful that my kids have been pretty good with a new school schedule and staying home with each other, and for our yard and play things for them to burn energy.
I am thankful that H and I have secure jobs and will continue to be paid through this. I am thankful that H and I aren't fighting with each other, though I imagine that may change if H starts to work from home...
I am loving the extra time with DS, he is such a joy to be around and just a little sponge soaking up information. We're working on shapes, colors, numbers and letters and he's doing so well. He amazes me and just makes me laugh all the time!
He's been watching me workout and yesterday he picked up my 5 lb weights and started doing squats with one in each hand. His form was iffy (ha!), but it was adorable!
Our ten month old spent most of her days being carted around in her car seat with school drops off and activities for her older brothers. Naps often cut short or in the ergo. Now life is totally scheduled around her naps.
Really grateful that both H and I are able to work from home and so far, have been able to trade the kids back and forth throughout the day with relative ease.
And I don’t know if it’s due to being home more or just coincidental timing, but DS2 is having his first language explosion. He’s almost 22m and has been in speech therapy for a few months because he has an expressive language delay. He’s had 3 words for about 3 months now (mama, dada, and uh-oh) and a few animal sounds. But this past week has started saying bubble, all done, egg, water (wa-wa), eyes, shoes, outside, balloon, etc. I’m also just really excited he’s even making attempts at new words—which he hadn’t really been doing before.
I'm primarily grateful we both have paying jobs (even if I do have to take a 3 week unpaid furlough and lost my bonus), but I'm also grateful that this has inspired us to do outings we normally wouldn't (hitting the beach in March, trips to other local nature reserves outside the city). We default to hitting neighborhood playgrounds or musuems and its been nice to change it up a bit.
We're also doing daily FaceTimes with my mom. We have a complicated relationship, but she is a great nana and I know it makes her day to have this daily contact (she lives alone).
Post by covergirl82 on Mar 29, 2020 12:49:13 GMT -5
I'm grateful DH and I both have jobs where we can WFH with 100% pay.
I'm glad our kids can be home with us.
I'm glad we have food, a warm house (it's still in the 40s/low 50s here during the day and the 30s at night), and a safe place to live. We have a nice big yard for the kids to play in.
I'm thankful for extra time together as a family and not feeling rushed all the time to get somewhere (one of the kids usually has an activity each weekday evening, and we usually had plans of some sort on the weekend, even if it was just going to church on Sunday).
I'm thankful for technology that allows us to be connected with friends and family, where we can video chat and not just hear their voices.
I am grateful we have jobs, plenty of food and a solid amount of cash in the bank so that we don’t have to worry about money too much. I’m grateful that we can stay home and social distance. I’m grateful that my child has access to technology and has lots of books. I’m grateful that my kids love playing together and rarely fight. I took a walk in my neighborhood yesterday and it was gorgeous out and my neighborhood is really beautiful too, something that I hadn’t fully appreciated in the past.