The global pandemic that has literally put our entire nation on hold has placed more stress on struggling families than anyone expected. There are literally hundreds of articles out there now talking about working from home and the strain of the pandemic.

Me, well I’m a new mom so I can’t speak on the struggles of home schooling. Although, after seeing a close friends post on what her daughters were required to review and learn, in the 2nd grade. Yeah, I’m good. I’ll take my drooling, want to walk before he crawls, happy, screaming (because he found out how high his voice can go), baby!

My one issue and it’s not really a complaint more of an acknowledgement. Working from home has been a completely different experience with an infant. I’ve worked from home off and on for the past few years, but never full time. Between the feedings during conference calls, nap times which require full cooperation (which I never get), and the play times (which make me wish he was always a baby); it has been juggling on levels even the best circus performers would be in awe.

If only working from home was this peaceful.

Now let me preface the following statement, I absolutely love working from home and spending time with my son. He’s literally a joy even when i’m exhausted and he’s screaming due to teething. Now, the downside of all of this, it’s constant. Even when i’m not working I feel like i’m working.

Remember when there was that separation ? Working and work friends. Then you go home to relax and enjoy your family or glass of wine to destress. Does anyone remember these good times from so long ago (January 2020 was a decade ago in pandemic years!) Seriously it does feel like there is no separation and until now I never realized how important that feeling was.

Even before my son came, working from home felt separate from family life because it was only me working from home. Now i’m sharing space with an infant and my wonderful husband. (Who’s been great by the way!) However, still sharing space makes that separation i mentioned earlier a little more tricky. Bumping into each other at the fridge or in the pantry because let’s face it quarantine snacking has become a national past-time with predictable results.

(That article on weight loss and travel is forthcoming!)

I love spending time with my family and I also enjoy water cooler chats and talking about a favorite episode of “Archer” with some co-workers.

The lack of connection and interaction does affect my work in that you don’t know if “Sandy” is having a bad day, so pressing for those slides at 9am might not be productive. You don’t know if someone is out of the office unless you see their message indicating it and you don’t know if it’s because of something tragic. I believe work families sometimes can become like your family. You care about them and genuinely want to engage.

The other side of this coin are those who aren’t exactly happy with work and are having the best time being away from people who cause you stress and discomfort. I mean, seriously, not everyone loves their work family. Many just see them as strangers who happen to be co-workers. That’s completely fine. No one and I do mean NO ONE should be judging anyones experience in this new normal.

Whether you enjoy working from home or wish you could talk to and see your coworkers more often (Zoom is also the new normal); it’s up to you to make the best of the situation until things are safe to go back to in person interactions.

If you happen to already be experiencing in person interactions in the workplace already hopefully your employer is taking every precaution to ensure your safety and the safety of your family.