WFH: Working Father at Home
Mark, our Client Success Manager, shares a day in the life of a working SiteCrafting dad. Yes, he drives a minivan. He can also make a bowl of mean fried rice and his optimistic outlook inspires us to focus on the positive.
Like much of the world as of late, I am working from home full time. So is my wife. And so are my kids. Well, not really working from home. They’re studying from home. Sometimes.
I can say unequivocally that these past few months have been both challenging and extremely rewarding. Fortunately, SiteCrafting was well set up to have the entire staff begin working from home at a moment’s notice, so the transition to full-time employment from the comfort of my own home has been quite smooth.
Each of our family members has our favorite spot to work from. These include desks, couches, comfy chairs (blankets a must), and sometimes the back patio on a sunny day.
The Parental Pivot
Brian Forth talks about SiteCrafting needing to continuously pivot (a great idea) and I’ve found the same to be true for our family. We find something that works well and go with it until tweaks are needed.
As the parent who traded his truck for a minivan last year (kinda forced to after the truck decided it had had enough), it is weird to not be piling the kids into the van to go to school in the morning or picking them up from school for the drives to and from soccer practice. Instead, I get to watch my kids ride their bikes up to the nearest school for lunches when they don’t feel like making their own, see my daughter rush in the morning to get ready for her daily 8 am zoom call with her class, and watch as my son sets up the garage for his 3-days-a-week virtual soccer training.
Our old life patterns have certainly changed substantially.
We’ve done puzzles, played so many board games (Clue, Wheel of Fortune, and Double Ditto are new favorites), worked on model car kits, and completed my daughter’s first latch hook pillow. And while there are certainly times when the kids get on each other’s nerves (and to be honest, mine), I have seen them support and encourage each other. When my children are missing their friends, or feel sad because they don’t get to experience the joys of the fifth-grade retreat at Camp Seymour they had been looking forward to all year, the other child is right there to be a friend and encourager.
What could be a better Father’s Day treat than seeing your children step up to the occasion like that?
Fried Rice, Organized Garage and Church
I guess on this Father’s Day I choose to look at the blessings that I’ve been given rather than the difficulties caused by the recent pandemic. I’ve learned quite a few things I would not have otherwise. I’ve added a mean fried rice to my recipe repertoire, spent a good deal of time organizing my garage after watching a few too many Adam Savage videos where he talks about “first order retrievability,” watched a fair amount of Diecast Racing (thanks 3D Botmaker), and experienced church in a way I never thought I would.
It’s certainly going to be one of the more unique Father’s Days I’ve had since my first child was born nearly 12 years ago (fun fact: I joined SiteCrafting 14 years ago). But it’s also going to be one of my favorites. I hope you have found ways to find the many blessings in your life even during these difficult times.
Here’s to the SiteCrafting dads on Father’s Day and every day. We appreciate everything you do including your commitment to our clients, our community and dad jokes.
