This is the second in a two-part story. Read about Shelli Volpp’s (T’93) unexpected return to West Lafayette.

After moving my son, Mason, home from Purdue, our house expanded rapidly. Our daughter Emma also had moved back home from college. We now had six people living in the house — four attending school from home, another working remotely, and each of us competing for space and Wi-Fi.

While the kids navigated the transition to online school, Jeff (LA’93) was now working from home and holding conference calls. Sometimes finding that quiet space to listen to a lecture or finish an exam could be challenging. Both of our college kids noticed a significant increase in workload when their classes moved online. For Jillian (junior) and Courtney (freshman), their high school classes followed a somewhat modified daily schedule, holding them accountable to check in with teachers at certain times of the day.

One of the positive things about the stay-at-home order has been having dinner together every night. In a house full of teenagers — two of them not living here for nine months of the year — it wasn’t often we were all together for dinner. Realizing these are moments we might not ever have again, I have not taken them for granted.

After-dinner events usually involved shooting hoops, playing board games, or engaging in highly competitive games of cornhole. Most recently, we started watching the Marvel superhero movies in order. At first, family activities occurred nightly — but then, realizing that we were getting a lot of ‘together’ time, maybe every night was a tad much.

Each of our kids connected with friends in a variety of ways, usually involving FaceTime and Zoom calls. The temporary medium was not ideal, but a pretty good alternative. Overall, the kids have adjusted well. All of us committed to doing our part to flatten the curve.  As restrictions gradually begin to lift, the kids have been really grateful to see friends again and return to a somewhat normal routine.

The Same but Different

Of the many changes during the pandemic, a significant one for me was my work situation. Having just started working for a tech startup, I was notified that they were struggling to keep up with the impact of COVID-19 and unfortunately, they had to eliminate my position along with many others. The announcement was disappointing, but not overly surprising considering the circumstances and the impact the pandemic had already placed on our company. Choosing to move ahead positively and with purpose, I had many ideas and quickly filled the time.

The content of my day fluctuated, but the structure stayed the same.

Starting each morning with a workout continues, but with new alternatives. With the Y closed, I shifted to at-home workouts, enjoying cycling with less traffic, yoga, and long walks with our dog, Mackey.

How has your daily routine changed? Let us know in the comments!

Eager to seize this gift of time to focus on professional development, I replaced workday meetings with webinars, online conferences, and a Purdue Global class.

Purdue and the Purdue for Life Foundation were two of the first to step up to the plate, offering free and discounted classes to alumni. Enrolling in my first Purdue class since graduation, I started an introduction to cybersecurity class in June. As other universities and organizations made professional development offerings available, I incorporated those into my normal workday calendar as well.

To make the most of my time, I chart out a schedule each week — blocking off time for scheduled events and designating time to complete class work and other projects. I also keep a log of to-do items and projects completed. Inevitably in a house of six, interruptions occur and sometimes the schedule has to shift. But thankfully in this new (temporary) normal, I have the flexibility to adjust as needed.

In addition to professional development, I have been tackling home projects. Between our normal busy schedule, traveling for work, church activities, and then visiting our kids at their schools for game days and other events, there was just never the time to fully dive into projects at home. It’s been incredibly satisfying knocking those out one by one.

In these unprecedented times, we are all learning to do things differently, each of us syncing with a new routine and daily cadence. Passionate about learning and education, I have enjoyed being able to spend time on professional development. I also appreciate the gift of a slower pace — enjoying more time to read and exercise — and am fiercely grateful for all the time with family.