Category: 05 – These Four Walls – parenting through a pandemic

I got an unexpected bonus in the pandemic. My 24-year-old daughter had both her jobs put on hold. She started calling me, every single day! Prior to that, she called maybe once every month or two, and texted maybe once every 7-10 days (for four and a half years!). It was the best part of… Continue reading anonymous

I have a 6 year old. The preschool closed, and we were destroyed seeing her stuck at home. She had no kids to play with, nothing to do. Having no routine was rough. My husband and I are both disabled and stay at home, and our apartment is studio-sized, so it’s close quarters for us.… Continue reading diane h.

Hard: ZOOM CLASSES. Our ADHD kid had enough meltdowns over this to where we had to transfer them to an independent study program just so they didn’t have to be locked into that inflexible and inefficient algorithm. (I couldn’t stand it either, would’ve done the same in their place growing up.) Also tough: helping them… Continue reading anonymous

My 23-year-old son lost his job and had to move home. I empathized with his feelings on the outside, but jumped for joy at the blessing of having him home to “mother” again (if only temporarily) and gulp in each and every wonderful minute on the inside!

I feel deeply for all the families struggling through the pandemic, but having my daughter with me for school-at-home has actually given me one of the best years I can remember. I’ve worked at home most of my life, first as a musician, now as a writer and designer. I feel lucky to be a… Continue reading adam d.