Remember when I said every cliche about having children is true? If you've never heard a parent tell you this one, well, let me be the first to do so: They get sick. All the time. And so do you.
I have no real progress to report this month, which included the tail end of our Christmas break and a whole mess of viruses in a row. Since starting daycare, Beatrix has enjoyed few weeks without a stuffy nose, cough, or fever, and these symptoms invariably pass through the whole family. This is all normal, unfortunately; just part of her little immune system catching up to the rest of the world.
The scary part is the COVID of it all, of which there is plenty. Her daycare has had to shutter several of its classrooms due to infections in teachers and students, and both Bea and I have endured the nasal discomfort of the at-home rapid tests to ensure we're not the latest victims of the plague. Maddy's co-workers have come down with omicron, as have mine, and a handful of our friends. It's bad everywhere, but of course I don't need to tell you that.
One interesting bit of business I can report. I've changed the format of the book. I started off riffing on the Sherlock Holmes model, with the tale told by the detective's partner from the first-person perspective. This past month or so, I've rewritten half of my chapters so that they alternate between third-person omniscient and the personal notes of the partner. I'm not sure I won't change my mind again, but for the moment, this new format provides an interesting back-and-forth.
Other than that, I've achieved little in the last 30 days beyond growing out my winter beard.
Time management is key here, and time has never been so precious as now. I’m hopeful that when the kids grow older and, god willing, COVID is finally conquered, I’ll be able to vary up my schedule. My daily beat has remain largely unchanged for the last year or so. This is what it currently looks like:
6-7am - Wake up to walk the dog, eat breakfast, shower, stretch
7-9am - Get Bea ready for the day, make her breakfast, then sit with her and Margot till the nanny gets here
9am-5pm - Work
5-7:30pm - Entertain the kids, make them dinner, put them to bed
7:30-10pm - Two-and-a-half hours to decompress, as a treat
And that doesn't include the other essential things, like checking in with the wife and cleaning out the garage. In short, I don’t have a lot of time to get this sucker written. But I am intent on writing this sucker, so time I shall find.