Bursts of uncontrollable laughter come through the wall of our home office, which is right beside the family room. I stop what I’m working on, get up from my desk, and follow the noise. The kids are playing “Super Mario Bros.” on the Wii, taking turns running their characters around the screen.
It is early April, a Wednesday afternoon. Scattered throughout the room are our four children. However, children they are not, as they range in age from 17 to 21 years old -- definitely young adults. To hear and see them having fun playing a nostalgic video game warms my heart. I continue my work, content.
Soon the laughter dies down as they go back to their tasks. Earlier in the week, our oldest started tearing down a 14- by-10 foot wall-to-wall loft in his old bedroom, which was a creation my husband had built for him. Our son had slept on it for years until graduating from high school and moving to college. He was helping one of his younger sisters re-create the space as her new bedroom. She could hardly wait.
Times change. Our son had grown up and moved out. Taking that loft apart piece by piece was going to be quite the project; plus, it was a reminder of the childhood of our first born. Our lives were feverishly busy day after day, month after month. We had no time for house projects. Until now.
The ripple effect caused by universities nation-wide moving to online coursework, Gov. Kate Brown ordering the closure of all Oregon schools, and my employer requesting our office staff to work remotely had shifted life into uncharted territory during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health and wellness concerns aside, this would be an adjustment. Individually and collectively. Six of us, together: husband, wife, two high schoolers, two college kids.
For me, working from home isn’t entirely new. Years ago I was a stay-at-home parent. However, in reality, as the kids aged and were more heavily involved in school and other activities, none of us spent all that much time at home.
In those days dinner often appeared on the table around 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays were spent at gymnastics and dance competitions or football and lacrosse games. Sometimes all of the above. My true title was more along the lines of a non-stay-at-home-stay-at-home parent.
Sure, areas of our home needed a bit of attention, but there would be a day soon enough when we wouldn’t have the noise and busy-ness that four children add to a family. Someday my husband and I would have all the time we’d want to organize slightly neglected areas, update rooms, and tackle overdue yard projects.
As I turn back to my work in our home office, I ponder something. I hear quiet scuffling noises in the room above me as two of our young adult kids pry nails out of two-by-fours and plywood, and the other two chat and giggle as they paint the ceiling in one of the nearby bedrooms. Perhaps that “someday” is now, and the key players are four young adults together again.
New family memories continue, COVID-19-style.
In the past several weeks, closets and cabinets have been emptied and organized, items bagged for donation centers, bedrooms freshened.
The loft came down!
More painting. New peach trees planted. Piano songs, tons of baking. Card games. We're on our fifth 1,000-piece puzzle. Repurposing old clothing, sewing. Meat and seafood recipes discussed for the barbecue smoker. Tik Tok videos ...
I cherish this extra time with our family of six. And by the sound of the laughter filling the family room a short time ago, I'd say they do, too.
It is early April, a Wednesday afternoon. Scattered throughout the room are our four children. However, children they are not, as they range in age from 17 to 21 years old -- definitely young adults. To hear and see them having fun playing a nostalgic video game warms my heart. I continue my work, content.
Soon the laughter dies down as they go back to their tasks. Earlier in the week, our oldest started tearing down a 14- by-10 foot wall-to-wall loft in his old bedroom, which was a creation my husband had built for him. Our son had slept on it for years until graduating from high school and moving to college. He was helping one of his younger sisters re-create the space as her new bedroom. She could hardly wait.
Times change. Our son had grown up and moved out. Taking that loft apart piece by piece was going to be quite the project; plus, it was a reminder of the childhood of our first born. Our lives were feverishly busy day after day, month after month. We had no time for house projects. Until now.
The ripple effect caused by universities nation-wide moving to online coursework, Gov. Kate Brown ordering the closure of all Oregon schools, and my employer requesting our office staff to work remotely had shifted life into uncharted territory during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health and wellness concerns aside, this would be an adjustment. Individually and collectively. Six of us, together: husband, wife, two high schoolers, two college kids.
For me, working from home isn’t entirely new. Years ago I was a stay-at-home parent. However, in reality, as the kids aged and were more heavily involved in school and other activities, none of us spent all that much time at home.
In those days dinner often appeared on the table around 9 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays were spent at gymnastics and dance competitions or football and lacrosse games. Sometimes all of the above. My true title was more along the lines of a non-stay-at-home-stay-at-home parent.
Sure, areas of our home needed a bit of attention, but there would be a day soon enough when we wouldn’t have the noise and busy-ness that four children add to a family. Someday my husband and I would have all the time we’d want to organize slightly neglected areas, update rooms, and tackle overdue yard projects.
As I turn back to my work in our home office, I ponder something. I hear quiet scuffling noises in the room above me as two of our young adult kids pry nails out of two-by-fours and plywood, and the other two chat and giggle as they paint the ceiling in one of the nearby bedrooms. Perhaps that “someday” is now, and the key players are four young adults together again.
New family memories continue, COVID-19-style.
In the past several weeks, closets and cabinets have been emptied and organized, items bagged for donation centers, bedrooms freshened.
The loft came down!
More painting. New peach trees planted. Piano songs, tons of baking. Card games. We're on our fifth 1,000-piece puzzle. Repurposing old clothing, sewing. Meat and seafood recipes discussed for the barbecue smoker. Tik Tok videos ...
I cherish this extra time with our family of six. And by the sound of the laughter filling the family room a short time ago, I'd say they do, too.
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