I do feel a little heartbreak on their behalf - at a time in life when they should be spreading their wings they are pushed back into the nest.  But it's just a speed bump in the story of their lives.

And - they are learning a set of skills that will set them up for life.  The skills of the "digital nomad." If you can work independently, digitally, you can work wherever and whenever you want.  You need to have work that can be done virtually, you need the ability to manage your own time and deadlines interspersed with scheduled meetings and phone calls, and you need a sufficient self drive.

Their school right now is very much like 80% of my work.

Of course I look forward to the day when we are all able to be more human and social again, but it the meantime I'm focusing on what can be learned.  What we learn is not always in the classes we take or the books we read, but in the way we live.

I knew the day would come. After a month of these posts my kids have had enough.  I can't say I blame them. We're all home all day, so when I committed to taking photos every day that meant a lot of photos of them.  I'm going to give them a break.

Today I want to share this Bukowski poem I just discovered called "The Laughing Heart."

your life is your life
don’t let it be clubbed into dank submission.
be on the watch.
there are ways out.
there is a light somewhere.
it may not be much light but
it beats the darkness.
be on the watch.
the gods will offer you chances.
know them.
take them.
you can’t beat death but
you can beat death in life, sometimes.
and the more often you learn to do it,
the more light there will be.
your life is your life.
know it while you have it.
you are marvelous
the gods wait to delight
in you.

“The Laughing Heart” by Charles Bukowski from Betting on the Muse

​When a small pebble lands in a pond it makes a splash. At first, only that one point in the water is affected. But with time the ripples expand.  Soon every part of the pond has been altered.

If you are feeling a pause, then take this time to steady yourself. To strengthen and ground yourself firmly. This is just the beginning.

I'm an optimist.  We will find new ways to thrive, but here are some of the ripples I think are coming our way, followed by some of the true wisdom our moms have divined from this experience so far.

The Economy
Some are feeling comfortable right now. Maybe you work in eCommerce or software design and you are busier than ever. The ripples are coming.  If your business is still going strong that's great.  But how are your customers doing? And their customers ... and their's? When this many people are jobless, and this many businesses are closed, the eventual impacts are inevitable.  It may take years for the ripples to reach every shore.

The Value of Local
With disruptions in the supply chain, people have a greater recognition for the value of local.  Local produce, local dairy, local take out, and local innovation will be prized.

Virtual work is a Double-Edged Sword
Right now the world is discovering the value of virtual.  You can work from anywhere in the world. That also means employers can get the services you provide from anywhere in the world. Soon you will be competing against a much wider and deeper pool of workers for your job.  

If you've found a way to move your services, courses, or coaching online and you're excited about the possibility of scale, be ready. You will soon be competing head to head against the biggest players in the world.  Without local, what will set you apart?


Hunger for In-Person Connection
A lot of people have learned they can do more than they ever dreamed of from home - zoom family reunions, virtual work, even the news anchors are reporting from their living rooms.  But I believe this experience will also awaken a recognition of the true value of in-person connection.  I have been working from home for most of my career and cherish my in-person time with friends and colleagues. I'm intentional about planning in-person coffee meetings, yoga classes, and walks.  This way of thinking is becoming more widespread.  I've heard predictions that this will be the end of movie theaters.  Maybe it will.  But going to  the movie theater hasn't been just about the movie for a very long time.

What the Wisest Moms Can Teach:
We host a daily Spartan Up Podcast Zoom call with some of our podcast hosts and featured guests.  Today, through a series of mistakes and coincidences, Johnny Waite, Sefra Alexandra and I found ourselves on the call with our moms!  Michael Aspinall showed up and after a little catching up he asked the 3 moms - with all of your wisdom, what have you learned from the pandemic?

The answers:
* The importance of family and of recognizing the good moments.
* That being alone is Ok, in fact, it can be good for creativity and self-development
* That people are more intentional than they've ever been and are paying attention to what is most important. 

The refrain - we are staggered by the blessings.

Today I'm taking a moment to appreciate the incredible craftsmanship my kids put into this hobby.

This moment is an opportunity. The opportunity is deeper than time to take a class, or reassess your career.  This is a time for us to all to get more comfortable with uncertainty.

Even before this massive world shift brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the speed of change in our lives was stunning. Rapid shifts in technology, culture and work-life inevitably bring uncertainty. What if the greatest skill we can learn, and the greatest skill we can teach our children, is a tolerance for uncertainty?

On today's run I listened to  James Altucher's interview with Psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman, here's a one minute clip:

I don't love uncertainty, but as someone who has been self employed for almost all of my life I've learned to live with it.  In fact - there's a buzz of excitement that chaos brings.  

Comfort with uncertainty doesn't negate the need to plan. In fact it heightens it.  I think about it this way: when I go on a shoot I never know what it will bring.  Locations we've never scouted, opportunities we never anticipated, technical difficulties. I spend hours before each trip planning, packing, testing, trying to anticipate every possible scenario.  I never do.  And then I leave the monopod in the uber, or my client decides to interview 3 people instead of the one we have a mic and lights for, there are 100s of scenarios.

But even for me the current level of uncertainty is daunting.

You've heard the Mike Tyson quote "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth," Col. Nye says "It's not the plan, it's the planning." The process you go through in researching and creating the plan prepares you for the inevitable uncertainty.

All this time I've been trying to provide my kids with continuity & routine,  but now we all have the opportunity to deepen our  tolerance for uncertainty.

​ ​

Today - true simple pleasures. There is nothing that makes me happier than our family working together on a project.  Especially when I know my husband is passing on a little of his practical knowledge to the boys. In this case about winches, come-alongs and pump jacks.  But also about solving mechanical problems. About being innovative, self reliant, and safe with machines and heavy weights.

We're starting our first spring in the new house, and they are building me a raised bed ... which means I'll be trying to grow a few things.

Trooper was on hand to supervise.

 The Spartan VP of content and I were talking (by talking I mean we exchanged abbreviated text messages.) We noted that teens, and parents of teens, seem to be invisible in the media right now. Here's the letter I wrote for publication on the Spartan site.  ( Spartan published the article 4/23)

I had a great day. Hope you did too.

What's on my mind this morning:

... and what's on his:

The first week on "lockdown" our friend Charlie Brenneman said "This is not a vacation, it's life." 

This experience is different for everyone. Some are concerned with isolation, some with uncertainty and anxiety, some with where their next meal will come from, others with how they'll make it through another brutal shift and whether they'll catch what so many of their patients have. Some quite literally are fighting for their lives. But for all of us there's been tremendous change in how we understand what we are experiencing , internally and externally, as weeks go by.

It started with a sense of urgency.  For me deciding if those last trips I could squeeze in were worth it, stocking up on food, trying to find hand sanitizer, reducing expenses, making sure relatives and loved ones were safely set up, re framing marketing campaigns and messaging for clients, and thinking about how we could serve the community we'd built around the podcast. Next we learned that schools would close.  Focus shifted to the kids - how do we establish ground rules, enough structure but not too much, get enough exercise we don't kill each other, stock enough food to feed two teenage boys who are home all day! Easy challenges compared to some, but still "crisis" or "reactive" mode.

Then there was worry.  Could I have caught something on that last trip I took to a huge podcasting conference in Florida? Four full flights and thousands of people from all over the world. Could I have given it to my mother or my husband, both on the "vulnerable" list?

Today we ALL need to start thinking about this differently. How do we make this situation, to whatever degree it extends, sustainable on the micro and macro level.  By that I mean - this is not vacation, this is life. It's time to set up a structure for your days that will work long term.  On the community level it's time to give very careful thought to where you spend your money and who you can support.

Local matters more than ever.  Look at what this crisis has revealed.  Businesses like uber and instacart are not the heroes here.  The heroes are the small local businesses that  innovate fast and  are driven by a mission not just to survive but to serve their neighbors.  

It's not too different from a hurricane. When Irene struck our small towns the first to respond was not the federal or even the state government - they move too slow, it takes them too long to learn what people on the ground really need. It's small local groups  that are the first line responders jumping in with creative solutions. 

When Killington saw that dairy farmers were forced to dump milk and that locals were worried about finding their next meal they decided to help both by giving grocery care packages that included local milk and cheese.  My sister in law's shop, Stock Culinary Goods, sold local groceries as an add on, but she realized she could use her relationships with local suppliers and her takeout window to serve her community. There are millions of these stories. 

All businesses are struggling, and they need income to survive and to keep paying employees. But now, as a citizen, it is time to think about what matters for community sustainability and to take note of where businesses (big and small) focus in this crisis.

This is what life is.  Laughter.  Laughter with people you love.  This part is utterly the same as any other time. 

​Without trips, without visits, without school, meets or appointments the days blur together. There is a sameness to the days.  A grinding monotony I have never been good with. 7 days a week we  do out Spartan Up zoom chats. No matter how much I edit, I never get ahead.

The days blend one to the next in a confusing muddle of sameness. Maybe that's the work. To be Ok with that.  To learn to focus on the moments that stand out.  . 

Is it a testament to the human ability to adjust?  Life in isolation is starting to feel almost normal.  Or is it the easy danger of complacency?

​Most of most days pass on computers, books, iphones and ipads, but every now and then we manage to break away.

​Work still fills my days.  I wish there was more I could do to keep my family happy, engaged, feeling positive and moving forward.

Inspired by Grandma Roo's annual Easter gatherings we decided to try making our own Easter Eggs:

It's really about the process, but here are the results:

Its the one big outing - a trip to the grocery store.  Today most people wore masks.  The store limited the number of people inside at once.  The line outside spread thin with 6' between shoppers.  I took photos of the empty shelves because they are remarkable ... new and different for us, but other than toilette paper, bleach and some of the brands we like they had more than enough of everything.

I just didn't feel right.  It was a tough day.  Maybe not enough sleep. Maybe it was the natural progression of this strange experience we're all living through.  I spoke to a few people who had a tough time Friday. Here, in Vermont, life is easy.  We have space. We have food. The number of cases is still low.  There's no tragedy, no emergency to respond to.  In fact it feels self indulgent to complain at all when many people are truly suffering. And yet there is this slow incessant mix of isolation and friction. Monotony and frustration.  And a sense that we're removed from the outside world.

 But when I sit down to compile today's entry and I look through the photos from the last few days I see, even in the midst of a funk, there is normal and accomplishment and even laughter.  It makes me smile again reliving those good momements.

A friend confessed to me that she had called her young daughter a name she deeply regretted.  Another said "I thought I was the kind of person who was strong enough, but maybe I'm not."  It's important to share the stories.  It's not easy every day.  But we just keep marching.  Pick our heads up.  Look for the bright spots and hold them in focus. And know that a few months really isn't that long.

A lot is different, but some things aren't. Thursday's ​the boys take turns making dinner. Every day we run. Every day the dog needs to go out...again...and again...

Grandma's "art" challenge.  This week a narrative ballad or a still life.

It's not the greatest photo, but I love the image of my mom on a virtual call using her dictionary. 

If you're not familiar with the game of "fictionary" here's how it works: one player finds a word in the dictionary that no one knows the definition of.  That player writes the actual definition on a slip of paper, each of the other players writes a fake definition on a slip of paper and anonymously drops it into a bowl.  The first player reads all the definitions out loud and the we all try to guess the correct definition.  There's a point system based on guessing the right definition or tricking others into choosing yours...but that's really not the point.

We figured out last night that we could set up a zoom call on the ipad and text each other definitions, so we played a few rounds with Grandma Roo.

We did our first ever virtual podcast interview today too.  Joe had a great conversation with James Altucher while his engineer Jay and I listened in. 

... and just like a TV news anchor - no one can see that I'm wearing sweats and pink slippers below the view of the camera.

I'm grateful for the virtual connections, but there is something deep within me that craves in person visiting.  There's a lot of conversation about how the world will be different.  How people will realize so much commuting and office time is wasted.  I think that's true.  But I also think we will all come out of this with a greater value on real, in person, human connection.

Spring was in the air today.

Sunday we had a family zoom and shared poems and drawings, my mother shared this spring Haiku:

and this about life in Cambridge:

Most days there's a strange mix of normalcy, loneliness, frustration, and not much contemplation.  Usually followed by the realization that this is NOT about me.  Thinking about medical workers, hospital housekeeping staff, first responders, grocery clerks, pharmacists and delivery people.  Thinking about people living paycheck to paycheck who just lost their paycheck and those struggling to keep small businesses alive. Thinking about people with sick family members and loved ones and those who are sick.

Then remembering a few months is a blip in life. No big deal. Take a deep breathe, wait it out, do what I can to keep the family happy and healthy.  Like the humming bird in the Quechan Fable - I do what I can.

[scroll down for the fable as it was introduced to me by my friend Matt Baatz]
Hover over slide show for forward & backward controls

As told by Matt Baatz:

Today I'm thinking about the value of weekends. We are home either way, weekend or weekday, so does it matter?  No trips to school. No trips to work. No Wednesday Karate or Tuesday pottery.  For me the decision to be in a different mental state changed everything. Today it felt almost like we were home by choice.  Our time was our own.

Today started with the 5:30 am Spartan call. We heard :90 second updates from China, Canada, Spain, South America; updates from military leaders, financial experts, and always a few motivational thoughts. This morning  I gave a quick summary of our Podcast session with the extreme skier Kristen Ulmer who wrote  "The Art of Fear." (see April 3rd). Still but then the day was my own. 

The kids did not have virtual school.  The level of stress they are carrying all week sudennly became clear in its absence.

I took a long walk in the woods behind our house and didn't think about needing to be back for anything. I talked with with family as I walked and only returned home because the battery died.

We talked about the SBA emergency loan program and how complicated it is. We talked about this idea that Jon Levy the behavioral scientist talked about on the podcast: that many of the things that are correlated to longevity are also correlated to happiness. Two of those are 1. your close social network (best friends & family) and 2. your loose social network.  It's that loose social network that we're all missing now.  It leaves a sort of constant dull ache, but with the long calls and the walk in the woods it finally dissipated.

Third on that list is exercise. That's one thing we can control.  So we run every day.

Creativity wasn't on the list, but maybe it should be. 

​Mom challenged all the kids and grandkids to create something - a poem or a drawing - and be ready for a ZOOM show and tell on Sunday evening.I took an hour and sat outside in the sun trying to convey the light hitting two birch trees. No phone. No walls. No computer.  It was great medicine.

On  ZOOM an exceptional example of virtual community with our guest Jeff Gomez.  The topic: transitioning from the "Hero's Journey" to the "Collective Journey" story model, and how that is especially relevant right now.  As our friend Jesse Levin, Tactivate, pointed out - "don't wait for permission to solve problems and help." Jeff Gomez said:

The days blend together.  I checked my photos and could not recall which things happened on which day.  I formatted the card after yesterday's post, so I know these are all from the last 24 hours:

In the evening I learned that at least one of my kids finds it painfully boring to play scrabble.  Can you guess which one? 

Last night Wilbur (sr) introduced Mac to the great classic "Lonesome Dove," a little cowboy break from all the sci-fi fantasy he usually reads.

In a surprising moment of agreement both of my parents insisted I should not be using the couch with a sheet on it for the dog as my ZOOM background. I put up our old podcast backdrop. Some days I join Joe's 5:30 am ZOOM call, every day I co-host our 2:00 Spartan Up podcast call. Zoom is everywhere.  The boys are learning what it's like to work from home - juggling homework and zoom meetings for school.

Today I gave a quick synopsis of lessons from extreme Kristen Ullmer's  interview:

And - just like before isolation, we run every day. I caught Wilbur returning from his run: