Social Distancing Predictions

Social Distancing: Day 2 (Sunday, March 15, 2020)

I haven't been in the office since Wednesday and the boys' last day at school was Friday. Andy has had most of his travel suspended so he'll be working from home exclusively, as well. However, this is the weekend and we are already a bit out of element. If this weekend was to go on as planned we would have had one hockey game, and six baseball practices. But no, everything has been canceled.

As far as work, working remote isn't a concern for me. I'm lucky to work in the software industry which offers me to the flexibility to put my hours in from home or office, weekdays or weekends, during business hours or outside normal business hours. The kicker... gotta get the work done! My concern for the next three weeks is that all the boys will be practicing social distancing while Andy and I have to work. They have no homework, they can't leave the house, they can't have friends over. The weather is nice enough to play outside. Unfortunately we are in between outdoor ice skating season and pool season, so playing catch, going on a bike ride, playing outdoor basketball, etc. are their options.  They are old enough to entertain each other and themselves, but they will get bored. They will. They just will. Oh, did I mention they will fight... oh my, the fighting...

I'm going to have to get creative AND I am going to have to go into the office for relief on occasion. From what I gather, there will only be a few people at the office so I will continue to practice social distancing even at the office.

My other relief is my dance fitness classes. I have debated how much I need them. I have come to the conclusion that I NEED them. I did teach a SHiNE class at Travis Pointe on Friday. I even had a new customers. I put a few protocols in place to help us all stay safe. My intentions is to continue teaching my SHiNE and Jazzercise classes until the centers close down. At this point I have 3 SHiNE classes and 2 Jazzercise classes with no classes scheduled on the weekend.

What about the rest of us?
Vincenzo has been training for this since he was 2 years old. Vincenzo doesn't like to go out into crowds and enjoys his time at home. Although he loves his brothers, he would rather not attend their games or events. He's a gamer and tech guy. Yes, he can game like no other 12-year-old. However, I have found him taking initiative to go for a bike ride, walking the dogs and even jumping on the trampoline, but he did those things alone and/or with his brothers. I predict Vincenzo will get through the next 3+ weeks with minimal complaining.

Social distancing will probably take the biggest toll on Rocco. It seems every Friday and Saturday he is either staying at someone's house or we have 3-4 boys staying here. EVERY WEEKEND, both Friday and Saturday! I actually remember asking Andy just a few weeks ago if we should be concerned about how much time he is spending with friends. Every social circle he belongs to he makes friends: hockey, school, baseball, football, church, neighbors, bus, etc. He's a lot like his dad. He loves crowds, loves being around friends and he can work a room no matter the size, the bigger the better.

Speaking of Andy, he already put himself to work. He took down two ice rinks, including ours. As I write this he is at the grocery store getting us the ingredients to make meals for the next few days. I will be curious how long Andy can go without social interactions, but even more, how long can he go without seeing his boys play baseball. All games, practices, tournaments have been put on hold for the next 3+ weeks. It was hard for Andy to cancel baseball practice for Rocco's team but it was the right thing to do. Like Rocco, he loves a crowds. I predict that Andy will break social distancing and go out into crowds frequently, as he already did this morning.

Then there is Giuseppe. Giuseppe has great friends in all of his social groups and manages to keep relationships with friends from other cities that he doesn't see but a few times a year. But Giuseppe doesn't like to mix social groups of friends and he likes to keep the groups small, like 3-4 people at a time. For instance, for his July birthday I've wanted to have a big party for him, but he refuses and just wants to have several small gatherings throughout the summer with different groups of friends. The next three weeks of social distancing for Giuseppe should be fine as long as his brothers hang with him. He will get bored quickly if he doesn't have them to play with. I predict Giuseppe will be the leader in the family to make us do things together.