When I did my last post in late March, I intended to follow up with another post and start regularly blogging again. Well, obviously, that did not happen. So here goes my second attempt.

59 days ago, our area was placed under a stay at home order (quarantine). Thus I have been at home, only venturing out a few times to go to the store.  When quarantining began, I thought I would have much extra time on my hands, but I was wrong. Between continuing to keep up the house, work on a dissertation, and do a few side projects, I have found myself almost busier than before quarantine began.

Over the past 59 plus days, I have cook countless meals and continued to keep the house up.  Each day I have kept up the routine of dissertation research and all of the fun stuff associated with completing a dissertation. Allyn has made the dining room into his office. And I think our cats – Sammy and Sophie – keep wondering when we are going leave so that they can have a quiet day.

Balance has become a key to survival.  Balancing how much time I spend in front of the computer. Balancing home chores with working from home and being at home. Balancing dissertation work and project work. Then learning to balance home space… not just physical space but the noise produced in those spaces from conference calls.

Along with balance has become acceptance. Accepting that even though you are home, you are still going to be exhausted at the end of the day. Accepting that the house is not going to stay totally clean and organized because you are continually moving around it and using it. Accepting that you cannot do everything just because you are home.

While being home is not easy, it has allowed for several things needing attention around our house to get done or get started (and hopefully done one day).  Yard work has been one such thing. To break away from the inside of the house, I have begun working in the yard. Getting outside has allowed me to clean up all of the flower beds, plant flowers, and even clean up the back porch area. The cats have also begun to enjoy the benefits of outdoor time. Yard work will never go away, but for the first time in years, it is now manageable.