fifteen

so i debated writing about this because it is a touchy (TOUCHY) subject, but IT IS WHAT IT IS...so here goes. my mind has been literally blown over the backlash toward teachers the past few months. (blown.) anyone that knows me, knows that i'm pretty outspoken about most things. however, this whole teacher bashing business has been CRAZY lately and made me quiet (until now). first of all...this is not what ANY of us signed up for. ANY HUMAN BEING right now...not just teachers. not any child right now either. this is a time of turmoil and NOT understanding what the hell is going on. this is a time of discontent. let me start by stating that i would give a LIMB to be back in the classroom teaching like normal right now (like a whole arm, or leg). most teachers would do the same. it makes me sad to think my incoming kindergarteners won't get the same experience as the ones i've taught before. we don't want to teach your children through a screen...we want to interact with them face to face and make meaningful and honest connections. my own children are DESPERATE to be back in the classroom with their teachers (they talk about it daily). other teachers in other states don't have to endure a screen...but have masks and 6 feet restrictions, which i don't really understand how that is going to work either (throwing a hunger game salute right at you). 

BUT...here is the bottom line. WE (teachers) did not make these final decisions. we didn't make the current curriculum. we (as a whole) didn't decide how and when children should return to school. honestly, we found out when the rest of the public found out. we always find out major decisions when all of you find out! we had very little say in major decisions. we are stressing, we are scared, we are anxious...like all of you! DESPITE THIS...many of us sucked it up, rolled with the punches, and accepted the new normal. even though it killed a part of us to know our whole world would be turned upside down and we would have to change everything we have known about teaching to date...we accepted it! period. after we accepted it with grace (and mild gripes) we began to build our virtual, google, and bitmoji classrooms (along with the help of coffee and tears). coming from an OLD SCHOOL pencil and paper teacher (me)...we leaned on EACH OTHER for support as many other people berated us. about a week ago i was in a really bad head space about going back to school virtually (like, bad). then i spoke with a former retired principal for 2 hours, she gave me so much insight. shortly after, i had to go to my school to pick up some supplies and ran into my teammates, one of which who got excited to show me a picture of her virtual classroom space at home. they inspired me to pick myself up and DO BETTER. this is what happened over the next few days. this space.

yesterday we had a virtual pre-launch day with our parents and kids for this next school year. i was nervous, i was scared, and i didn't know how parents were going to accept this new fate. do you know what happened? they listened, they trusted, they cared, and understood. they were KIND when my microphone didn't work and CALM when the video i was going to play didn't have sound. moreover, i saw my incoming kindergartners smiling on the other end of the video call. when i unmuted them, their giggles and "hiiiii teacher!!!" gave me peace. one yelled, 'I CANNOT WAIT TO BE A PART OF THIS CLASS!' at one point. so, no, this is not what i signed up for year 15 of teaching...but i will try my hardest to keep these kids engaged and keep the parents calm and kind. i have been lucky enough to have been around amazing educators my ENTIRE career and the thing the general public doesn't see is the behind the scenes of how committed they are to children and learning. during this crazy time, it is no different. actually...it's in OVERDRIVE. i had a parent call me today with a question and after the conversation she praised me and praised teachers and said "thank you" sincerely. DO BETTER, people. teachers everywhere are bending over backward to take care of your kids the best they can. at the end of the day...be kind. also, to those of you that are negative nellies, i'll give you some advice i give my kindergarteners...if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. throwing hunger games salutes to parents and teachers everywhere this school year...you got this. 

solicitor

so let me start by saying where we live, this time of year it is hot. before you get all righteous on me and state 'IT'S SUMMER', i'm not talking summertime hot...i'm talking satan came up from the depths of hell and waved his spirit fingers full of fire all over the sky and soil. it's so hot that we have what i call a reverse hibernation thing happening here at our house...no one wants to be outside. now i will state that around 9am each day i try to get out for a little jog around the neighborhood. during these jaunts, i literally see jesus no less then 3 times, dry heave a coupla times, almost puke or pass out, and wouldn't be surprised if someone found me on the side of the road dying of dehydration (it's that hot). so this is me describing a normal morning the past 2 weeks, so imagine how blazing it is by the afternoon. i don't know what the good lord is baking up there...but it's done. i usually try to get my kids outside in the afternoon for some fresh air, but their whining trumps the weather. i've gotten creative on the inside with puzzles, paint by number, painting every room in the entire house (that happened), but yesterday we decided to do something simple. so in the heat of the afternoon, we cozied up on the couch and turned on a home improvement show on the old HGTV. because they have been helping me with things around the house, they are really into it. (which is cool, cause so am i.) so as we were watching in air conditioning, we heard a knock at the door. 

now although we don't get any pop-in visitors during this pandemic, we do get a TON of packages. i usually peek out to see who or what it is, but the dog was barking like hell...so i just went over and opened the door. instinctively, i looked down for a package, but there was no package. i then looked up and what should meet my eye, six feet away, but a masked man dressed in a black hat, a black shirt, black shorts, and black socks and shoes. he was like walking solar panel wearing reeboks and carrying a clipboard. he said, 'hello!' i said, 'hi.' (in my mind, i was like shiiiiiiiit a solicitor.) we get these guys in our neighborhood all the time...they could be selling anything from water softeners to windmills. (sidebar: i usually don't answer the door, cause i have issues saying no face to face to them.) so anyway, i was trapped. i stepped out onto the porch (cause the cold air was escaping the house) and looked over at the bay window where our dog was going ape shit. she is usually mild mannered and old, but when strangers or the UPS guy come and we are home...she goes nuts. she looked like cujo and was acting like she wanted to break through the glass and attack this man's genitals. he looked at me and said with a straight face, 'your dog is SO adorable!' i almost bust out laughing but stated, 'she doesn't like solicitors.' (either do i, but i left that out.)

he then introduced himself as 'jim' and said, 'what's your name!?' i told him. he then goes, 'oh my wordddd! that's my mom's name!' (yeah right.) then, 'what do you do for a living?' i said, 'i'm a teacher.' he stated, 'my mom was a teacher tooooo! she taught high school math.' (i teach kindergarten and dislike math...we don't have that much in common, jim.) next? 'what does your husband do?' i replied, 'he teaches middle school and is teaching a summer class upstairs right now.' he exclaimed, 'i taught middle school for 3 years! clearly i don't anymore!' (clearly.) he yelped, 'how long have you been with your husband?!' i said, '20 years.' he made some type of distorted face, pointed to his wedding ring and said, 'i've been with my wife for 2 years...what's the secret?!' i didn't miss a beat and said, 'a lot of alcohol, jim. lots and lots of alcohol.' well this sent jim into hysterics. he doubled over, was wheezing (probably partly from the heat), and thought this statement was a real KNEE SLAPPER (he was actually slapping his knee). i happened to glance back over at the bay window, and although the dog calmed down...both kids were peeking out from behind the curtain. at his point in the summer...they both look like they have escaped from a hippie commune in the 70s. they were wearing long homemade tye dye shirts, their long hair was a mess all over their heads...and they looked equal parts scared and confused about who i was talking to on the porch. jim saw me looking, glanced over...just as they let the curtains flutter back into place like horror movie. he yelped, 'awww they are SO cute!' even though they they legitimately looked like they were being held captive in their own home. 

so to be clear, he thinks our cujo-crazed dog is adorable, my feral and confused-looking children are cute, he knows my entire life story basically...AND I STILL DON'T KNOW WHAT THIS MAN IS TRYING TO SELL ME. he must've seen the annoyance cross my face, cause besides the aforementioned fact, i was standing there sweating in the heat like a pregnant nun during confession. i knew i wasn't in any physical danger, this dude looked like if he got in a fight with my mailbox, the mailbox might win. he then laugh slash yelled, 'so i'm just here to give you a FREE ESTIMATE so that i can hook you up with new WINDOWS!' (oh, hell.) i would've given anything to stop the pain at this point, so i said, 'sure! sign me up!' he put me on speakerphone with his supervisor (named ron), who got all my information...as he is standing there with sweat squirting out of every pore. long story long, the 'estimator expert' (that's what he called him) is supposed to show up today at 5pm. later, my husband came out of the guest room from teaching his class and said, 'why was the dog barking like hell?' i told him the story about solicitor jim. he put both hands on his head and said, 'how do you get in these situations?!' (i don't know.) he went on, 'we are NOT getting new windows!' (i know.) so sometime today i have to call and cancel this appointment, which i will ultimately feel bad about. so basically i'm telling you if a walking solar panel wearing reeboks shows up at your door with a clipboard in the middle of a pandemic and heatwave...do NOT answer it. you might get more than you bargained for. stay inside and watch HGTV...it's much safer. lesson learned. 

safe

so i would say about 3 weeks before vacation i decided to order some new undergarments. as i age, functionality definitely trumps fancy in that department. i went on one of my groups of middle aged women who post the best deals on amazon (what up, kristin!) and searched through the posts. low and behold i found some that looked comfortable. i clicked order and they arrived a day later. my husband opened the package and usually doesn't comment on much...but stated, "who are THESE for?" i stated, "me!" he gave me a look somewhere between confusion and despair, but was very careful with his words. he then mumbled, "those look very SAFE." (i lost it laughing.) a few weeks later i liked my comfortable under britches so much that i ordered more of the same variety. we were traveling at the time and i said out loud, "i REALLY hope no one steals my underwear package off the porch!" without missing a beat he said, "NO ONE...literally NO ONE is going to steal those. also, they will bring them right the hell back if they do!" (again, more laughing.)

let me also say that one of the reasons (aside from functionality) i needed new undergarments is because i had to size UP. upon stepping on the scale yesterday after vacation, i realized i had undoubtedly gained the covid-15. add that to the 15 pounds i gained during the gluttony (and stress/switching jobs) of last summer, and that's an extra 30 pounds since last june. i've always been pretty candid about my weight, but the goal always is to feel healthy and happy with how my clothes are fitting. the leggings and sweatshirts i was wearing everyday during quarantine have now segued into flowy summer dresses. not getting dressed in teacher clothes since march has not been good for the waistline. i know many of you can relate, and that's why i'm sharing. however, i'm no stranger to weight gain and i think my greatest performance was my first year of college when i surpassed the freshman 15...and gained the freshman FORTY. (this is not my first rodeo.) i happen to enjoy beer and burgers (a lot), but my metabolism is that of a speed bump, so i have to watch everything i put into my body. i still run and am active everyday, but when your caloric intake is that of a sumo wrestler...watch out.

that all being said, i need to get myself together and i'm committed. my current goals are to drink more water, eat cleanly, limit alcohol, and be more mindful about my overall health. this pandemic has taken a hit on many people's mental and physical health and i know i'm not alone. you know what else i'm not alone in my lady friends? can any women out there tell me how we used to wear brassieres everyday!? (holy hell.) i've been walking around my own house like something out of a national geographic magazine, but when we were going on vacation with my husband's family, i packed a few normal knocker lockers. the first day i tried one on and was like...'nope!' so i went down to the old walmart and picked up a much more comfortable one of the hanes variety with no wire. apparently my husband didn't see it the whole vacation, because when we arrived home i was getting undressed for a shower and he whipped around and gasped. (loudly.) i said, 'WHAT?!' he then yelled, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU LOOK LIKE MRS. DOUBTFIRE!!!" (i couldn't breathe.) with the uncertainty of next school year looming...i'm choosing to focus on comfortable undergarments, fitness goals, and humor. mrs. doubtfire...over and out.

march

so does anyone else feel like their kids' secretaries all of a sudden? i get texts from other moms like, "can clarabelle facetime with the girls at 3pm?" in my head i'm thinking, "hold on i gotta check their schedules to see if they have something else going on at that time." what? so weird. they don't have their own devices, so they use ours...hence, there has to be a middle man. the middle men are the moms. not to mention the other school related assignments and google meets. i whip out a pen and pad each morning and sit with the two of them at the kitchen table like a registrar asking them what they need to complete and by when. my first born today opened the laptop and said, "well, tomorrow i have a google meet with my class at 10:30am and my teacher wrote a note that said, DON'T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR MUSTACHE!" i just stared at her, willing her to go on, and she yelled, "WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN?!" (she is me.) the coffee that was in mouth nearly sprayed out of my face orifice and all over my first born. soon after that my second born said, "i have a google meet tomorrow at 9:30 with my class and it says it's crazy hair day!" i said, "well your hair is always crazy, so just roll out of bed and get on!" she laughed her little head off.

as a teacher, i understand why these other teachers are throwing some flair (like crazy hair) in with these virtual meetings and chats. they are trying to accomplish one thing...and that is to keep up the kids morale. if a whole class of kids wearing mustaches makes everyone smile a bit more, well then so be it. yes, keeping up with it as a parent is not easy...but these teachers have your kid's best interest at heart. yesterday, morale was low at this house. trying to keep everyone educated, happy, and fed is getting harder each day. if you are struggling on day 239 of quarantine, you are not alone. i try to go one day at time to keep myself sane, but yesterday i came downstairs and my husband was running like hell on the treadmill, blasting 'the doors' from his record player. my first born was sitting at the table eating a snack and singing along to come on baby light my fire. meanwhile, my second born was wandering around in christmas pajamas and asked me, "what day is it again?" i literally went out in the backyard and wondered if it was too early for wine. it was like 10am. i think everyone in the world is at the same place right now...wondering when and if this will all be over. there is no timeline, so people are really getting rowdy. including me.

last night at approximately 10:23pm, my husband and i heard a huge bang come from up stairs...like, really loud. i yelped, "WHAT WAS THAAAAT?" we both ran upstairs like banshees and my second born was sitting on her bed, crying and holding her head. she wailed, "i hit my HEAAADDD!!!" we both said, "ON WHAT?!" the story she came up with was not believable and my first born was looking awfully suspicious. i know it was 100% because they were horsing around. after consoling her and coming downstairs, i had a julia roberts acting moment. you know the one where the one tear gently rolls down her cheek? that was me. on the couch. at my house. i was thinking how i miss a way earlier loud bang free bedtime with my kids. i miss a routine, i miss teaching, i miss my coworkers, i miss my family, my friends, my new niece...i miss all that stuff. so as the one tear rolled down, i poured more wine and thought about what my grandmother would do during this time. she always gave the best advice. one time in college i was going through some stuff and she looked me in the eyes and simply said, "you just need to put on your boots and march!" in other words...just keep going. so tomorrow morning i will continue honing my secretarial skills, as one kid is in a wig and other is wearing a mustache with their classmates...i will choose laugh along with them. march on, people.

sword

so last night my husband nonchalantly leaned over while we were on the couch and said the following, "i just want you to know that i ordered a stone sharpener for my sword." nothing (literally nothing) surprises me anymore, but as i peered at him over my wine glass i had only one question. so i asked, "what, exactly, are you going to use the sharpened sword for?" without missing a beat he stated, "i'm going to go out in the backyard and throw fruits and vegetables and shit up in the air and cut them in half." (what?) at this point i couldn't hold back and bust out laughing. by no means did i want to encourage this behavior...but what in the actual hell. i squawked, "are you trying to tell me quarantine has turned you into BRUCE LEE?! what are you even talking about?!" he nearly spat out his beer and started laughing as well. you are probably wondering why he would even have a 'sword' in the first place, so i'm gonna tell you the backstory.

i actually totally forgot about the sword...until last friday night on a virtual happy hour with high school friends. after three hours of nonsense with these people (and many beverages), the sword made a reappearance, following many years of isolation on the (very high) top shelf of our downstairs bathroom closet. he was waving it dangerously close to my limbs, nose, face, and ears...and no one needs to go to the emergency room right now. (which is what i tell my children on the regular when they are running around out house like crazed weasels.) i told him to put it down, but he stated, which is the same thing he stated years ago (BC-before children) when he brought it home. he said (and i quote), "DON'T WORRY...it's not BATTLE READY." (battle ready.) listen buddy, you just had about 12 beers and battle ready or not, a sword...is a sword. i mean, sure, it may not take off a limb...but it's gonna leave a flesh wound of some sort. put down the damn sword.

the actual sword.

rewind twelve years ago, in our first year of marriage, we bought our first house (this comes into play later)...he also bought this sword. it all came about when a group his friends went to a renaissance festival together in pennsylvania, and he came back to maryland with this weapon. let me state whenever this group of guys is together they act as if they are legitimate animals. animals let out of the zoo and into the world (renaissance fair) with no rules. anyway, he saunters in the door on sunday, bewildered after a wild weekend...with this sword swinging around. at that time, i would get more wound about this stuff. (now i don't even bat an eyeball.) i said, "WHAT IS THAT." (not a question, a statement.) i probably added some expletives in there as well, for good measure. he stated (same as last friday), "DON'T WORRY...it's not BATTLE READY." (cause that makes it better.) back then we weren't in the financial situation we are now, but for some reason i didn't ask in that moment how much it was.

lo and behold, a couple days later i get a call from the bank. they let me know that our (VERY FIRST) mortgage payment...had bounced. i was talking to the teller and said, "i'm not sure what happened, but can you tell me what recent purchases were made that might have caused it?" she clicked away at her keyboard, started chuckling on the other end...and then said, "well, it looks like there was a charge for $120...for a SWORD." it legitimately came up "sword" on the bank statement. i said, "oh...yes. i'm aware of the sword...i'm now going to go use it ON MY HUSBAND." she started belly laughing on the other end, said we wouldn't get an extra charge, and we hung up. i went into the room (with wild eyes) where bruce lee was sitting and said, "YOU BOUNCED OUR MORTGAGE PAYMENT WITH THAT SWORD!" he shrugged his shoulders and said something along the lines of, "you win some, you lose some." little did i know 12 years later that he would be ordering sharpening stones for the sword so he could pulverize produce in the backyard during a pandemic. well, that, my friends...is one for the books.

superpower

so last night my first born was face timing with five of her friends...and i will mention this is the first time she has been on a group chat on the phone ever. it's something i didn't envision for another few years with her, but it is very weird all the same. i mean, everything is weird right now...so just add this little anomaly into the mix. let me set the stage...i was in the bedroom with a laptop doing some work and my husband was in the shower. i hear the shower stop and door swing open. then, i loudly hear my first born say from the hallway, "ALRIGHT GIRLS...LET ME GIVE YOU A TOUR OF THE HOUSE!!!" we live in close quarters, so she was only a few steps away from every room upstairs. before i could say one word, my husband came flying out of the bathroom like a bat out of hell...wearing only boxers. (thank god his man parts were away.) he must've heard her too, because he had a wild look on his face like he needed to hide. he looked like a legitimate cartoon character. still wet, hair askew on top of his head. to say i bust out laughing is an understatement. i was convulsing on the bed and literally couldn't breathe. my laptop nearly fell on the floor.

this all happened in a matter of seconds, but he grabbed the nearest shirt and then tried to "cover" himself with it. i somehow squeaked out, "DO NOT COME IN OUR BEDROOM WITH THAT PHONE!"...and then went back to laughing. he was in a full blown sweat and looking around like, 'what the hell just happened?!" why he didn't just yell what i yelled is beyond me, but his actions instead were far funnier. that all being said, the beginning of this week was HARD. it's only wednesday and i feel like i've been through a pandemic (oh...wait.).  we all had been annoyed with each other at different times the past couple of days and man, i needed that laugh. home schooling and schooling from home has been an interesting and draining dynamic.  (it's no joke.) trying to find a balance in our house the past couple of days has been kinda daunting, but we are making do. i'm sure by now many of you have come up with your own little 'routine' of how your day is supposed to go...at least i have. (it keeps me from not going nuts.) part of that is a couple hours in the afternoon i clean or organize something in our house. my husband does not like this and i will explain to you why.

i grew up with a very handy father...he literally built my childhood home from the ground up, even though he is not a builder by trade (but i guess he actually is?). anyway, as i go about cleaning and organizing each day i find certain projects that i pass on to my (not so handy) husband. last week i remodeled the bathroom and the metal piece on the floor near the supply tube was rusted, so i texted my dad and asked if it was an easy fix. he said yes. so, i sent my husband out to get the replacement parts and after many curse words and a threat of divorce...it was fixed. later that night after several beverages, he let the dog out the backdoor and it was "raining" from the second floor of our house. he went ballistic. fortunately, the nuts just weren't tightened enough, so after some elbow grease, more foul language and another talk about the legal dissolution of our marriage...it was not raining from the second floor anymore. my husband is a mild mannered man...it takes a lot to ruffle his feathers. however, quarantine has set him off a little bit. the plumbing gone wrong is just the tip of the iceberg. he recently ordered a chainsaw (yes.) off of amazon because our 'neighbor's bush is rubbing up against our house and he can't take it anymore' (an actual big bush...foliage if you will.)

anyway, the chainsaw arrived yesterday and he said as soon as he has a free moment he is going to 'hang out the second story window' and 'saw it down.' so in short, stay tuned for that moment...cause it's sure to be a doozy. rest assured, we have all had our crazy moments in this house. for example, my first born was in a google meet chat with her classmates for her teacher to answer questions they had about their work...when she simply closed the laptop after 16 minutes and said, 'i'm done with all of them.' (i lost it laughing.) my second born is already a little kooky, but has now decided to not wear pants (ever), and saunters around the house wearing oversized glasses half the time (she's still into scaring us, too).  i went out for a walk yesterday and after somehow getting lost (even though i jog in our neighborhood all the time) had to pull up the GPS on my phone to figure out how to get home after an hour and a half. as we settle into (using that loosely) this new way of life, everything is weird and sometimes hard. however, if we stop at least once to see the humor everyday...like a half naked grown man trying to 'hide' from a gaggle of 9 year old girls on face time, well it just makes it a little bit better. hang in there, people, and when in doubt...use your sense of humor as a superpower.

corona

so yesterday i came out of the bedroom and my second born was walking around buck naked...wearing reindeer antlers. she was sashaying around like santa's helper, paying no mind to social norms like it was the best day of her life. i didn't even bat an eye as i walked downstairs. my first born was eating her 62nd snack of the day and stared at me as i walked to the fridge to get my 22nd snack. weird shit is happening during this whole quarantine, in my house and in the world. we got word yesterday that we have at least 4 more weeks off of school...and i woke up this morning and had to try to remember what day it was (seriously). since my husband and i are teachers and my kids are both students...we are all home together at all times. now i will say this, thank jesus that i actually like these people, but we are currently playing a fun game called "who can make the most dishes, not put them in the dishwasher, nor empty said dishwasher." i am currently losing because i have done the dishes about 283 times in the past 2 weeks (give or take).

i will say, and was brought to my attention by my brother, that i'm pretty cut out for this whole lockdown business. maybe you are like me...i love doing puzzles and reading books. i love being outside in the backyard or taking long jogs around the neighborhood. i don't mind taking a break from the rat race of life and just breathing. i like an extra glass of wine, staying up late, sleeping in, and having a homemade breakfast with coffee in a mug every morning. i also have started about 29 projects in my house and i am currently hoping to be featured in Better Homes & Gardens: COVID Edition. during this scary and uncertain time, i'm choosing to try to stay positive. i miss teaching, my classroom, and my school kids terribly...but i am enjoying time with my own kids. am i homeschooling? hell no. my kids work on some basic academic skills for about an hour in the morning...and then we work on life skills. so far they've learned how to pitch a tent, prep and paint a room, climb a tree, and make my grandmother's chicken noodle soup. they have mastered many things...everything except loading and unloading the dishwasher.

to parents who are trying to juggle working from home and homeschooling your kids...relax (really). because of this virus, education is going to shift in many ways. actually, i think lots of things are going to shift in many ways. when we return back to school (whenever that is), teachers will figure it out. not to toot my own horn, but teachers are flexible, resilient...and always have your children's best interest at heart (toot, toot!). this year alone i had one child come in reading on a second grade level...and another that only knew 10 letters. this is education now (even pre-corona). these gaps will be filled and life will go on. (it always does.) for now, the best thing you can do is simply have your children read books or read to them. have them complete puzzles, build things out of cardboard boxes, paint, play board games...and even simply be bored. creativity lives in the boredom. in fact my second born said today, 'i'm bored.' and i replied with, 'good.' focus on whatever your district, county, or teachers recommend you complete...but don't dwell on it and make yourself nuts. it's not worth it.

education aside...in a time like this, it is easy to fall prey to anxiety. not having a normal daily routine can be difficult for a lot of people...especially kids. however, one of the shifts i've already seen...is people being more kind and more gentle with each other. checking in on family and friends via facetime or otherwise. reaching out and making an attempt to see that friends and family are 'okay.' i've enjoyed reconnecting with lots of people just this past week and if anything, relationships will grow stronger with people you care about because of this whole mess. finally, if you are feeling frustrated or bad about your life...i suggest you hop on over to netflix and watch tiger king. what in the weird white people business that is. every episode is more messed up than the last and it leaves you feeling like you actually have your life together (even if you don't). in closing, i hope every one of you that reads this is healthy and well. if you are still working, working from home, or working to keep your sanity...you are not alone. at the end of the day, if you need to saunter around naked wearing reindeer antlers and grab yourself another snack to feel better...it's okay. this too shall pass.