April 14, 2026- Both my son and daughter-in-law work from home, most days. Hana knows when her mother is in the office, which is across the hall from the living room, where her play mat is located. For several days now, she has been getting frustrated at reaching the end of the play mat and having to turn around and army crawl back the other way. I finally figured it out, this afternoon. She wanted to try and crawl to her mother’s office. It would involve going on a section of carpet, then up onto the wooden foyer and over to the office. I deflected her. Instead, she got to sit in the office for about ten minutes, until she was getting too chatty while her mother was on a conference call. It was okay that I took her back out. She had been able to have a little time, realized her goal, and felt comfort.

A little bit later, some heating/cooling technicians came by, and fixed some duct work issues that had left us feeling like we were living in a sweat lodge. It hasn’t been too hot outside, so the fix is a proactive one-given that we can expect several days of 100 + F temperatures, between late May and September. The four of us will now have comfort. We will also save on energy costs.

The second most important thing I can do for my family, right now, is to provide some relief for Aram and Yunhee, in household maintenance, as much as possible- especially in keeping the kitchen and bathrooms clean and the yard in order. It is in the interests of all four of us, that they not feel overwhelmed by the trifecta of job, parenting and home. I remember all too well how that felt. There is no shame in providing a fair amount of comfort.