My usual blogging corner in the spare bedroom has become my office and, being someone who likes to have a clear distinction between work and home, I’ve spent most of the weekend avoiding it. But I’m so enjoying hearing updates from other people’s unusual lives right now that I’ve seated myself down to share a little about how I’m doing.
A week ago Friday, my parents (whom I live with) made the decision to return home from their vacation home in southern California. With everyone returning to Canada from abroad being required to self-isolate, that gave me two days to stock up and transition to remote working before they got back and we were all confined together. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a more hectic weekend as I ran errands everywhere and, without a car, did most of them on foot to spend as little time on the bus as possible. The stores were busy but orderly in my affluent and aged neighbourhood so it wasn’t an unpleasant experience but it was a tiring one. But at the end of it I was ready and happy for my parents’ return. It feels much safer to have them home in Canada – and far less lonely for me as opposed to an empty house.
Our self-isolation rules here in BC aren’t too challenging. For two weeks, we can’t go to stores (hence my big shop last weekend) but we’re still allowed to go for walks, as long as we stay 2 metres away from anyone else. This is easy in our leafy neighbourhood, especially as traffic has all but disappeared so it’s easy to walk in the street if there are people approaching on the sidewalk. We also live a few blocks away from a huge regional park (over 2,000 acres) with endless walking trails. The trails have been busy but it’s easy to stay away from others on the wide paths. Social distancing has been mandated for everyone and most people seem to be observing it.
Adjusting to working from home has been remarkably easy. At a past job I spent 2.5 years working from home so it feels very familiar to be back in my spare room/office each day. I’m not client facing anymore so as the markets crash I’ve been insulated from some of the chaos my colleagues are having to handle on top of everything else. I have however turned into ersatz tech support (as our real tech team are overwhelmed with people experiencing computer troubles) so am now an expert on talking people through how to set up video conferencing systems on their computers.
I am a huge believer in the calming effects of routines (also I know no other way to live) so, no surprise, I’ve settled into my new ones already. My morning alarm has been pushed back half an hour (to 6am), after which I get up, talk a 30-minute walk outside, and then great ready and make breakfast. Work starts as usual at 7:30 and I break around lunchtime for another walk (longer and brisker). I wrap up work around 4 and then take another stroll, right now enjoying all of the cherry trees that are in blossom. The weather this week was spectacular – sunshine and cherry trees do a lot to calm the spirit. Then it’s back home to make dinner, chat with my parents, and watch or read until bedtime. Aside from eliminating the commute (and all my colleagues), it’s honestly not too different from my usual routine and that has been deeply comforting.
My reading has gone entirely haywire but that’s a topic for another post.
How are you doing?
The Captive Reader 
It isn’t really clear if you are self-isolating from your parents…My neighbors whose college age kids just returned from S. Cal.are going to a cabin on Galiano for 14 days. Are you going to stay elsewhere? I sure hope so.
Nope, we’re all here together in one house. There’s no realistic way for us to be separated given how the house is set up, which is why I am self-isolating alongside them.
My husband and I are “quarantined” on our small farm in the midwestern US. I was just thinking today how being on a farm makes it seem not like isolation – farm projects can still go on (as long as we have what we need to do them), and there’s plenty of room for us to move around. Right now we’re getting a heavy coat of snow! But I can still see the tulip spears pushing up through it.
Sounds like you’re in a very safe place, Becky! And I’m glad you have signs of spring – always such a hopeful thing.
I need to figure out how to include a couple of walks for the days when we are working from home. I am doing half and half at the moment but I think that will be changed soon.
I think it’s coming for everyone, sooner or later. At least it’s a chance to form great habits!
It has been very weird. I’ve gone from working in a school office to working at home which is quite an adjustment…. Take car of yourself.
Sounds like it will probably be VERY quiet at home compared to your usual office. Maybe a good thing? Good luck.
How nice that you have such a big park nearby. We have to drive to a big-ish park here but there’s pretty much only one walking path around the huge lake so I don’t want to walk there anymore as I don’t think social distancing will really work! We have just been taking walks around our neighborhood.
That sounds like the safest option! My best friend lives in the Bay area and she mentioned that the hiking trails were unusually busy over the weekend, making social distancing really challenging.
I worked from home periodically until retirement. Having a routine is essential I found. If you’re not careful you can end up working far too many hours and never feeling completely switched off because there is no physical distance between work and home. i also found it important to dress in work clothes each day -maybe not as formal as if I was in the office, but more presentable than leisure wear
I heartily agree!