It’s been hard on all of us, from whatever walk of life you are from. My heart goes out to those that lost their jobs, who are grinding each day to stay afloat. Routine is key and to try, under the circumstances keep a smile as best we can. It’s hard. Yep, it’s really really hard. We look out our windows and see the spaces around us. It looks pretty normal, life moves forward. But put 6 or more people together in a small space, and the worst could come to fruition.
We’ve been spending our days in routine. I think it’s good to try and continue the routines we were doing before this pandemic took us by storm. For example, we get up, we make breakfast, we check the news, I make all the beds in the house, Amanda puts in a load of laundry. We empty the dishwasher and get the kids ready for school. They brush their hair, maybe play a little in the playroom, but come 10am, we are into classroom and zoom mode.
The constant struggle is changing directions every 20 minutes. Rolling from zoom call, to helping the kids with their studies, back to work, following up on deals, another zoom call, getting the notes out, hearing the pitch, finalizing the marketing campaign, back to the kids, oh wait…it’s time to make lunch, putting on your chef hat, loading the dishwasher, getting a work out in, etc. And on and on and on. We are all wearing a lot of hats right now.I say it like, each day a huge tornado blows through our house, we pick up the pieces, and reset for the next day.
There is a beauty in it though, too. All of us under one roof for days on end, we get to be with our families and grow and comfort each other how we probably never have before. It’s a blessing, and though we all want to get back to normal life, I think we will look back and strangely miss these days. Life is at its best when the music is playing, someone is crying, someone is laughing, and someone is giving me a hard time!
I’ve been taking a few pictures along the way. It’s a struggle to find time to upload, edit and finalize. For the most part, these pictures are in and around the house and the neighborhood. There is definitely a sense of space and distance in these pictures that tell a different story than we are accustomed to. The visual landscape right now is vast, but there is still a way to capture and celebrate intimacy. Sharing a few with all of you.
Be safe, be healthy, be well.
Estella & Sylvie stand a part as Amanda makes a picture of them at Fryman Canyon Park 3/21/20.
Overlooking the Valley between Laurel Canyon & Coldwater Canyon 3/21/20.
The Millers make a drive-by stop to see us in Sherman Oaks 3/22/20.
Social distancing at home! Amanda works on a real estate deal 3/23/20.
Sylvie & Blake link up for a bike ride, always staying at least six feet a part 3/24/20.
The new norm - online class learning. Sylvie’s backpack will remain right here until at least May 1st 3/25/20.
Kester Elementary 3/25/20.
The Kester Elementary empty school yard and parking lot 3/25/20.
The silver lining for Estella, is that she learned to ride her bike. Check out the empty afternoon street 3/25/20.