Mamas multi-task. It’s pretty much in our nature. Once you’ve accomplished anything while holding a baby, you get a feeling of success.

Often we have scheduling conflicts or happy coincidences that result in the need to multitask.

Like the Monday that James had school on Zoom, and I had work on Zoom, and Erick, who would normally help with James, was down with a tooth infection and sound asleep. That was pretty much a three-car crash.

James couldn’t get the password right as he switched from one Zoom class to another. I was actively working on my own Zoom. I am pretty sure he said some bad words during his ensuing meltdown. By the second issue, when he couldn’t find a page in his workbook, and I couldn’t immediately help him, it was armageddon. Finally, we gave up on school for that day. I was in touch with his teacher and support staff, and we did solve one issue: no switching between Zoom meetings. It also highlighted his need for 1:1 support, which he does receive when in the school building.

A happier coincidence of events was when I was able to take photos of snow being cleared by public works as we walked to the library. It was a good time. I took almost 30 photos, then we picked up books and projects from our friends at the library.

(If you haven’t been visiting the library, check it out. New projects from preschool to teen levels are available weekly. You can browse a curated collection of children’s books, or order online for pickup.)

On our walk home, we saw a friend who used to work at James’ school, and her dog. And James had fun spotting dog prints in the snow.

Earlier that day, we waited in the parking lot of the dentist’s office while Erick saw the dentist. I used the time to transcribe meeting notes for an article.

No, it wasn’t all idyllic. James did not enjoy standing in the wind while I took photos. While I transcribed notes, he used his feet and the back of the passenger seat to make drumming noises. But all in all, it was a good morning.

When multi-tasking, you take the bad along with the good, and make the best of it. And then you take a few deep breaths, and do it all over again.