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Working While Parenting

As a brief update to my post from yesterday, I did end up going for a run outside and it was absolutely wonderful! While I anticipated it would be difficult and expected to need a break or two since I haven't run outdoors in months, I ended up running even further than I planned without a single break! I ran for 4.3 miles, which is pretty close to my all-time best distance of 4.9!

Unfortunately I also have bad news.

The situation I detailed yesterday regarding my toddler spending the mornings with her grandparents may be compromised. As a result, she's home with us while we work today and will be until we can guarantee (to whatever extent that's possible) that it's safe again.


Yesterday while my partner was visiting her parents to pick up our toddler, her brother stopped by to pick up something. Unfortunately, after getting closer than 6ft to his parents, he disclosed that he had been feeling mildly sick since Monday but was feeling relatively better.

THAT DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN ANYTHING.

 In addition to the fact that as many as 50-75% of people with COVID-19 may be asymptomatic–as in they carry the virus but their bodies don't actually show any signs of having the disease–there are reports that early signs of the disease can be very similar to the common cold or seasonal allergies that come and go over the course of several days.

Fortunately, my partner and our toddler were in the other room when this happened and her parents disinfected everything as soon as my brother-in-law left. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that he didn't already spread the virus to his parents, who were then in close contact with my partner and our toddler afterwards.

It's heartbreaking to cancel the one thing that kept our situation feeling somewhat normal. It's even worse knowing that it could have easily been avoided.

So now we've got a little guest with us while we work from home. I've moved my workspace to the basement with my partner and we've gated our toddler down with us. It's a big space with a lot of toys and very soft carpeting, so she gets to run and play while we alternate between working and keeping her entertained and cared for.

Hopefully–for many reasons–it will turn out that my brother-in-law had a simple cold. In the meantime, we have a new normal.

Stay healthy and sane.
-Ryan
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