In the past week I have done each of these things over video conference:
- Happy hour
- Taught a class with 5 virtual breakout rooms
- Played cards
- Dance party (with costumes and a DJ)
It is certainly a big old goofy world to quote John Prine but we’ll get to that later. Mrs Maze is on an endless stream of conference calls every day and our two little guys go to elementary school through an internet connection. Groceries are delivered or picked up in the parking lot of the grocery store wheeled out by a guy in a surgical mask. We literally burned out our treadmill motor from over use:
Fighting Cabin Fever
We have had to get creative to keep the little guys entertained:
Where do you take stir crazy kids to get out of the house when everything is shut down? Here are some of my secrets:
Everyone laughed at me when I bought this dorky metal detector but it provided a whole afternoon of treasure hunting fun for the boys:
Other activities have included:
- Hiking up in the hills
- Running
- Biking
- Every sport that we can think of
If you have ideas to keep kids busy while under this quarantine please share in the comments because I am running out of ideas over here 😉
How Do I Help
How do you appropriately write about the topics I usually cover on this site while people are recently out of work, have lost huge swaths of their retirement funds, and some are literally fighting for their lives? I don’t really have an answer to this. I do know that emotions are particularly sensitive right now, and perhaps there is no right answer. Last week I offered to respond to any who email me with finance related questions since it is something I write about quite a bit and is a challenging area for many right now. While there is no telling how long this pandemic will last, many of the values from the financial independence movement may be more applicable now than ever. These include:
- The Virtues of Frugality and eliminating waste
- Minimalism
- Building up an emergency fund that eventually turns into F-you money
- Investing for the long term (especially when stocks are selling at a discount)
- Mindfulness and Meditation
- Do It Yourself home repairs, haircuts, etc.
- Lifestyle Design
When Words are Tough
When words are tough I’ve always turned to music in my life and would like to leave you with a song:
UPDATE: today April 7, 2020 John Prine passed away from COVID-19 complications. I just want to pay tribute to John, an understated song writing giant and a unique voice. If you listened to his music you really felt like you knew him and also something more about being human. RIP John Prine.
