Barbara Kline is the President and Founder of White House Nannies. She has worked in a traditional office setting for nearly 4 decades. Barbara, self-quarantining since March 12, 2020, is adjusting to working remotely. 

I was summarily dismissed from my office last Thursday, March 12 by my thoughtful and caring staff. That’s how old people are treated these days. It was the last day of work as I have known it for the past 35 years and for the foreseeable future. 

By nature, I’m an optimist (you can have anxiety and still be this.) I started to think If I have to be home, what a great opportunity it will be to clean out every room in this cottage. I’ll finish the attic exfiltration. I had my work cut out for me, and I was excited for the project. 

It’s now day 8. I have not touched a drawer, a closet, a shelf, a corner in any room in the house. Instead, I’m learning the ropes of remote work during a pandemic. Slack,Webinars, Zoom office meetings and candidate interviews. Where did the day go?

Oy, Veh. I listened to a report this morning that warned we remote workers have to be careful not to get depressed or anxious. We may even lose our tempers. Alexa, were you listening in my kitchen last night as I was talking to a colleague and trying to make dinner? Did you hear that utensil sail through the air? For the record, I did lose it. It had been an exhausting day. After expending whatever energy I had left, I ate dinner alone (I was not fit for companionship), turned on the news, and promptly fell into a slight coma. Only to wake up to  watch more devastating news and then call it a night. Today was a better day.

At WHN, we are going to be posting more blogs. Most will be on serious matters. We want to help keep our nannies and families informed by being a reliable source of information relating to the pandemic. The other blogs will be more personal and possibly goofy.