Leadership / 07.07.20
How to Deal With Your At-Home Kids While Still Working Your At-Home Job, Part 2
Teddy Durgin
In Part 1 of our article, I interviewed a number of ticketing professionals about how they have been coping working from home while also caring for young children — from babies to young middle schoolers. In Part 2, I posed some of the same questions to INTIX members with high school students and older kids home from college due to pandemic-related shutdowns.
This second part was more up my alley, as I am the dad to a 15-year-old daughter, Madeline. There have been advantages to self-quarantining with one’s family. One, her mom and I haven’t had to rouse her in the wee hours of each morning to get ready for the bus. Two, the social dramas of high school have calmed down considerably. And, three, sheltering in place with no movies, no trips to the mall, no froyo, etc. has been a lot cheaper. I still got a Happy Father’s Day card this year with the word “Father’s” crossed out and “Wallet” written in its place, but the “I wants/I needs” have diminished considerably.
So, writing up this article was as much a learning experience for me as, hopefully, it will be for many of you reading this. INTIX pros are a clever, crafty bunch, and the people interviewed below have certainly had to be clever and crafty dealing with their older sons and daughters.
Embrace Technology
“My strategy was strong Wi-Fi for a 21-year-old and two teenagers for computers, iPads, iPhones, Nintendo Switch for ‘Animal Crossing,’ and plenty of Netflix for ‘Tiger King’ and ‘Ozark.’ I engaged my Bourbon collection, which now needs restocking, and am trying to understand TikTok.” —Josh Logan, Director of Marketing and Ticketing/Championships for the NCAA and father of three daughters: Marisa (21), Olivia (17) and Jacob (14)
The Logan family.
“As a mom, I consider it a bonus blessing that [college] classes [going] online for the remainder of the semester brought both our students home for a while. It was a technical challenge at first having four individuals working or taking online classes at the same time, and some days become a musical chairs game between the two home offices, dining room and kitchen table for the best Zoom call location. But it’s fantastic to now have tech support, graphic design and video editing available in-house 24/7, not to mention a fashion consultant! I’ve learned how to utilize Alexa and gained a new design for the expanding Women in Ticketing Facebook Group.” —Jennifer Staats Moore, Associate Director at the Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University and mother of two college students, Austin and Ansley.
Eric Rozenberg
“On the evening of the first day of online classes, our youngest told us that she found a way to create a group chat with her friends on Zoom. And because she was the host, she could mute them all.” —SecuTix Americas CEO Eric Rozenberg, father of three daughters (ages 17, 14 and 10).
Support the Arts
“We have been making music a lot, stretching our comfort zones in style and instruments. My oldest son and myself have bonded over jazz music and learning R&B, as well. We have movie nights where we share a meal and show our skills. My music major brings in his keyboard and makes an impromptu soundtrack to the movie, my husband makes us food and my engineer analyzes whether the Black Panther truly has any basis in science.” —Aren Murray, Director of Ticketing for the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts in San Antonio and mother of two sons, ages 21 and 19. One is majoring in music, and the other is studying aerospace engineering.
Road Trip
“This past Friday, I decided to grab the kids and do a field trip to get out to get out of Toronto. We are still a hotbed for COVID-19 numbers, but outside of the metropolitan area, cities and towns are opening more. We packed a lunch, grabbed bathing suits and towels, and drove two hours east of the city. We stopped for gas along the way and drove past a great park on Lake Ontario. Determined to go to the other beach (on the same lake), we continued down the highway for another 30 minutes to get to our destination. As we came off the highway and approached the town with a beach, there were huge signs telling us that the beach was absolutely closed. After confirming that the beach was gated and closed off, we headed back to the town where we got gas. This new-to-us beach location was perfect. It has become our new best-kept secret. I could tell you where it is, but then everyone from Toronto would visit it.” —April Moon, Associate Director of Audience Services for The Canadian Stage Company (currently furloughed) and mother of three: Ruby (20), Sasha (14) and Jonah (11).
Let Your House Go to the Dogs
“My kids talked me into a new family dog. So, we rescued Benny, a 2-year-old mix of what we think is Havanese and Schnauzer.” —Logan
Benny, the Logan family's new rescue dog.
“My youngest thinks it is hilarious that somehow the neighborhood dogs have taken to getting out of their yards and stopping at our door to say ‘Hi’ to me. We are visited a couple times a week by a canine admirer. They walk up to our porch and wag their tails until someone alerts me. They wait for me to come ask them how they are doing, and then I walk them back to their homes where they seem happy to return. Last week, we went to an outdoor venue outside of town and someone brought a horse. My boys were just as amused when the horse greeted me in a similar manner. Maybe I should have been a vet.” —Murray
The Feels
“One extremely helpful strategy has been to have a schedule — not only a school schedule, but also a family schedule. It gave them structure and allows us to work and have time together. From watching Andrea Bocelli live from the Cathedral of Milan to the 25th anniversary performance of ‘The Phantom of The Opera’ at the Royal Albert Hall to ‘Madam Secretary’ on Netflix or baking cakes or testing new recipes, the silver lining of all this has been to spend time together as never before.” —Rozenberg
“As college students, Austin and Ansley plan their own schedules but are helpful in tackling household projects. We have decluttered the office, pared down basement storage, baked cookies, sorted old photographs, re-landscaped the front yard, highlighted my hair and become pen pals with several older people who live by themselves. Most importantly, we have spent bonus time together. And, as parents of two remarkable young adults, we are blessed!” —Moore
Find the Humor
“When it first hit, I suddenly envisioned a world where we couldn’t get into the hospitals. So, I bought a $300 medic kit filled with items I don’t know how to use. I’ve only had a need for it once so far — for my daughter’s scraped toe. Fortunately, it didn’t require my shiny, new nasopharyngeal airway kit or my Sprague Stethoscope. But the Band-Aids are top notch!” —Jason Mastrine, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Patron Technology and father of three: Julian (16), Beck (13) and Piper (10).
The Mastrine family.
“[After picking up her son at college in Florida and making the two-day drive back to Texas] Exhausted, we entered the house and were greeted by my music student son blaring his new school assignment. Learn to play a brass instrument virtually! Me being the amazing mom I am, I did not say, ‘Isn’t that exciting!’ I said, ‘Oh, no! That is not happening. Stop playing that instrument in my face!” —Murray
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Tags: Leadership , Workplace , COVID-19 , Coronavirus