Day #3005? of quarantine: Life at the Beeman household has been going pretty well. The days are starting to blend together, and things we did last week seem like a month ago. Since my husband has been deemed “non-essential”, he has been off work for the past few weeks and has been fully embracing the stay-at-home-dad life. We have been filling our days with projects around the house, like finally unpacking from moving a few months ago and catching up on yard work that we have been putting off. There are a lot of projects where a few months ago I found myself saying, “if only I had more time I would do…”, and now I’m discovering that even with the time those projects are still unappealing! One good thing about quarantine is that we have used this time to convince Atticus his crib is a good place to sleep. Surprisingly, this has gone well!
I guess I was thinking that since he’s a year old we better use his crib for more than just a decoration piece in his room. We have also been trying to convince Atticus that walking is a much more efficient way to get around, but for now, he is unconvinced and is sticking with crawling.
In our free time (aka when Atticus is asleep), we have been watching a lot of movies (and also jumping on that Tiger King bandwagon, I could write an entire blog post just on that show!). In true Beeman style there are rules and regulations to this: Night A: Lane chooses 3 options, Tim picks. Night B: Tim chooses 3 options, Lane picks. All movie choices must be in a different genre. So far, our favorites are 1917, The Report, and The Shawshank Redemption.
Working From Home
As far as work goes, it is eerily quiet walking through the halls at UTSW. Campus is full of COVID-19 notices, and chairs and tables have been roped off with caution tape. The only person I see walking through the halls is a campus police officer with a mask and gloves on. All my fellow lab members’ desks are empty, and I miss seeing them every day. I have had to put my mouse work on the back burner lately; I’ve only been coming in once a week to check on them and wean. This has given me a lot of time to sit down and organize our data, write new protocols, and think about all the projects I can work on as soon as life gets back to normal.
Working from home has presented a few new challenges as well. I have many more distractions than a normal work day, breaking to change a diaper or having a toddler that steals my sticky notes and pens. My dining room table has been converted to a desk, which means I am dangerously close to the kitchen and am tempted with snacks much more than a normal work day.
Although this is an uneasy and difficult time for many, I am trying to focus on the positive side of things. My family is safe and healthy, and I am getting a lot more time with my son, who is growing up way too fast. This time has forced me to slow down and realize how much I do have to be grateful for, and I am hoping to continue that attitude well after life returns to normal.
