The COVID 19 pandemic has definitely changed the life of my family. The only person who is still living with the same schedule is Chad because he is a Comcast tech and considered "essential." The kids are doing schoolwork from home, and I have set up a home office in my dining room (not great, but at least I still have a job. I thought it would be an easy transition, but it has not been so easy. Change is always hard, but we are each dealing with it in our own way.
Noel has been doing great with her schoolwork. She wakes up early and gets it done. The problem is that she then has to figure out what to do with the rest of her time. For most of this last week she has been playing her flute and teaching herself how to play "Scripture Power" and a song from Frozen II by ear. I am proud of her for honing in on her passion. The problem is that she is an extrovert. She needs to be around people. Hopefully, this will all be over soon, and she will be able to spend time with her friends.
Sean is my easy going kid. The first few days of doing schoolwork online were rough. Who am I kidding? He has had 2 weeks of this, and it is still a struggle. He sets a timer for 3 hours because that is the estimated amount of time he should be spending per day, but he will not work a minute past that. I am not sure how to convince him that finishing the work is more important than the amount of time he spends on it. This is still a work in progress. He did ask for materials to learn how to draw, though. We got him a sketch pad, a book about drawing people, and a drawing kit. I am hoping that by picking up a new hobby, he will be more willing to work on the required work.
Eric is my biggest struggle. He got a job! He is selling knives over the phone (because he can't go to people's homes). I am so happy for him. He is working harder on this job than he has worked on anything in a long time. The problem is that he is struggling with the motivation to do his schoolwork. He is so close to graduation. I don't want him to miss graduation because his schedule was changed on him and he can't be around his friends. His is my extroverted introvert, and his extrovert side has been struggling a bit.
Chad is still working. He gets to go to people's homes and install or fix their internet or cable tv. His schedule hasn't changed much,but he no longer has a day or two to himself now that the rest of us are home. Thankfully, he is still working!
I still have my job. I am working from home in the corner of my dining room where my sewing machine used to be. That means I get to be between the refrigerator and the back door. This can be a chilly situation, but I am making it work with slipper socks and sweaters. A few days ago, I was told via email that my hours were going to be cut. I don't know much yet, but I am not going to sit around and wait to find out. The day I found out, I started crocheting scrucnchies to sell. Today, I had 14 made and used them to open an Etsy shop. I have plans to make paracord key chains and knitted hats as well. I want to have a good variety of things in the shop to give me a greater hope of making the money that I will be lacking from my regular job. When things get back to some kind of normal, I will keep my shop as a hobby with hopes to for it to help me pay off debt.
