Items

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  2021-03-23

  #JOTPYLesson from Jordan Bizal

  I've learned that I wasn't spending enough time with my kids and spouse. I have missed so many things this year, but I realized just how much I've missed by prioritizing life outside of my home. My kids are funny, kind, and so smart. It's been a great opportunity to pay attention to the things that they do while they're still little. I've learned that my extended family care deeply for me. The way people have called to check in and set up regular zoom meetings reminds me that in the same way I was missing small regular moments with my kids and spouse, I was also missing mundane conversations with people farther out in my circle.
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  2020-08-01

  The newest fashion accessory, the mask.

  Once we realized that masks helped stop the transmission of the virus, we began to collect them. It became our newest accessory, and we enjoyed finding new patters and designs. My husband found that he had to get special ones to go over his beard, and everyone complained how much they hurt their ears. This picture is of my Casa de papel (a show that my husband and I binge watched during the lockdown) mask that I bought in Etsy. It's not very breathable, so I don't wear it often.
• 
  2020-10-17

  My New Co-Worker

  As a virtual school teacher, I have been working from home for almost seven years now. I was used to being the only other person in my home office, besides my dog Toto. But since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States in March, my husband has been working at home as well. We began working together side by side in my/our home office: however, once my husband stepped into a new role within his office, he began to have Zoom meetings and phone calls almost daily. That change coupled with my Zoom meetings and phone calls with students, our shared space was no longer feasible. He has moved to the kitchen table, where he and I can make calls without being in each other's background. During the day our house is filled with both of us talking on the phone, me to students and him to his clients. The space where I used to be free to make breakfast, listen to music, or make whatever noise I wanted, I now have a co-worker to think about (other than my pup). We both have to warn each other when our cameras are on for zoom meetings so we don't appear on camera or make some inappropriate noise in the background. Our home is now a real office, with Zoom meetings, talking, typing, lunch breaks, etc. I think I'll forever remember the sound of my husband's phone voice, as well as the "doorbell" sound chime when people enter a Zoom meeting. "Home office" has a new meaning to me now.
• 
  2020-08-26

  Normal Covid Year

  Through the pandemic I have never stopped working. My wife and so many others were laid off and impacted through all of this. I smile because we have been able to maintain our livelihood and health.