So the child therapist who I met with yesterday about keeping our kids sane in extended lockdown told me in no uncertain terms that we can't expect to prevent impact to our kids from what is happening. Our best hope is to mitigate it.

We all have good days and bad days.

For me, with young kids, the answers are found in snuggles, checkins every 30 minutes or so when I'm working that include a hug or kiss, lots of praise, and the understanding that about three hours is all they can handle without constant supervision.

This means certain things for me as a single mom.

It means I can expect to only work in three hour bursts, once a day, for the foreseeable future.

It means that morning snuggles make a massive difference.

It means that everyone has permission to have bad days, including me.

We need to get more reasonable about our expectations during this time.

Bad days are not the end of things. Good days are like watering a plant so it can survive.

All of us are going to have work to do when this is over. There is no way to avoid it.

We are living through unprecedented times. Love and human contact and forgiveness and patience are all assets. So is forgiving yourself as a parent if you can't do all of that, all the time.

We're all doing the best we can.