The silver lining...

As a parent I am concerned about the impact of life being disrupted due to the current global pandemic we are facing. How will they keep up? Will they stay engaged? Will this set them back? How am I going to balance a full time demanding job and my entire family being home 24/7 and keep my sanity during a statewide stay at home order? I'm sure many of you are asking yourself the same or similar questions.

Family dynamics are different these days... My parents and daughter (who live in NJ) are here indefinitely due to our friend, Corona! So overnight our family doubled from 3 to 6. What was once a quiet and laid back atmosphere has since flipped on it's side and we are in adjustment mode. I have always worked from home so for me, it's BAU... for everyone else however being home 24/7 is a whole new concept.

Last night, after working a full (and demanding) day, I prepared dinner for my family... Penang chicken over rice. I love cooking so I do typically cook from scratch 5-6 nights per week. After putting a home cooked and hot meal on the table I received the standard "thanks for dinner mom... next time don't make it so spicy" (from my son), "next time make it spicier" (from my daughter) and... "I liked everything except the chicken" (from my dad). I didn't take it personal, I'm pretty laid back. My response was "if you think you can do a better job then you can cook dinner for everyone tomorrow". That comment was geared at my kids.

Fast forward to today... I pour my morning coffee and take a minute to remind my kids (who are 16 1/2 and 20 BTW) that they are on point for dinner tonight... the menu, the prep, the serving AND the clean-up! Oh and they have to use only ingredients that we have in the house... I am then informed that we are having breakfast for dinner. GREAT!!

My parents, my partner and I were sitting outside waiting patiently for either of the kids to make a move... Finally my parents start yelling to the kids that we are all hungry. My daughter comes outside with menu's and a pad. She introduces herself and hands us the menu's for dinner. We are dining at La Cantina Quarantina this evening, incase you were wondering! We order our drinks, 20 minutes later they come out. She takes our orders and goes back into the kitchen to tell my son, who somehow was designated as chef for the evening. We immediately hear bickering and the clanking of pots and pans. He couldn't figure out how to cook 4 different dinners at the same time AND get them out while they were hot. I can sympathize... I go through this often. My partner and I both eat very healthy and are very conscious about what we put in our bodies... my son has a dairy allergy and my daughter has a shellfish allergy and an aversion to anything not beige! Having to cook multiple meals at the same time is my third full time job!

Slowly our food starts to come out. Some missing items ordered, some cold, some soggy but surprisingly edible. We bust their chops they way they often do to me and have a few laughs. I might have mentioned that this restaurant was getting a poor Yelp review a few times :). After the 4 adults are all eating both kids sit down with a sheer look of exhaustion on their faces. When I said "where's your dinner?" my son lost it... His response to me was "I just had to cook 4 different meals, everyone was complaining and the waitress I hired was awful". I tried really hard to hold in my laughter... I said "Thank you for making dinner, I hope you now appreciate what it takes to cook a meal for your family". I then go on to explain how I do this every night, after working a full day at my demanding job as well as my second job (that pays nothing btw) as a full time mom!

And here it is... the silver lining... "Mom, we appreciate what you do more than you know! Thank you!"

So... if you're wondering if your kids will suffer from not being in a physical classroom as we adjust to the new normal my advice to you is this... Take this opportunity to teach your kids the thinks they won't necessarily learn in a classroom at school... How to be a productive member of a family and an overall appreciative and decent human being! Tonight, as I am digesting my strawberry waffle and eggs, I am giving myself a pat on the back for doing one thing right as a full time working mom who is trying to balance a family of 6 quarantined at home for the unforeseeable future!

P.S. if anyone knows where we can find some toilet paper in the Orlando area please let me know :)

Stay safe, wash your hands and please stay at home!