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It’s been about four weeks since my world starting to turn upside down. Depending on where you live, it may have been less time or more. Things with the coronavirus had been looking dicey before then, but it really started hitting home for me around four weeks ago. That was the start of what has become the new normal around our house.
I work from home on a full-time basis. We have three teenagers who are finishing up high school. My wife is a research accountant at the university. Basically, I was accustomed to having the house to myself during the day — with two dogs and two cats roaming around.
Suddenly March Break for the kids was extended and then became semi-permanent. Two of them saw their jobs suspended immediately, with the businesses shutting down — hopefully, temporarily. The third hasn’t had a shift in weeks. My wife is working from home as well. My office isn’t large enough to comfortably accommodate two people, so she is set up at the dining room table. After two days of working there (and recognition that this isn’t ending any time soon), we ordered an ergonomic office chair for her. We were able to get it from a store offering “curbside” pickup. I had a 32-inch monitor in storage waiting for a review, and it’s getting serious, hands-on use now… Fortunately, Amazon was able to deliver the necessary cable to connect her laptop. The dining…
