Calvin Daniel
While being a working parent comes with its own set of challenges, balancing the line between work and home life is a normal undertaking for many families. During this time of quarantine due to COVID-19 however, families nationwide are working to adjust to a new state of normal which often includes staying home from work. Calvin Daniel, an employee at a local manufacturing plant, shared a glimpse into his life as a stay at home dad while sheltering at home.
“It feels good to spend time with my family when I usually wouldn’t be able to,” says Daniel. “The struggle with being off from work is not having anything to do. It would be different if we were off and the country was open so that we could enjoy the free time, and don’t get me wrong, I understand the reasons for shelter in place and social distancing, but we are limited in what we can do. Sitting in the house gets old after so long.”
As Daniel’s wife is still required to work, the couple is learning to adapt to their new roles. “One thing I’ve learned is since she’s having to go to work, she feels like there’s a lot of stuff I could be doing around the house that I normally wouldn’t be giving attention to, were I working,” Daniel says with a boisterous laugh. “That’s one of the big things, that dang honey-do list gets extremely long when you’re just sitting at home.”
During quarantine, Daniel is home with their five children, ages ranging from three to 17. “I’m loving that I am getting to learn more about my children’s personalities,” Daniel says. “It is easy to say I have ‘x’ amount of kids but to actually get all of this time with them, to see their similarities and differences day in and day out, it’s kind of fascinating to me, to be honest. This is a learning experience I may not have ever had as a full-time working dad. I am learning about my children at a deeper level than normal life previously allowed.
While Daniel says that he appreciates the time to be home with his family, the chance to cross items off of the honey-do list, and spending time learning his children at a deeper level, “the sitting home, it’s getting old,” he says with a laugh. “I’ll say now I’m ready to get back to work, but I’m sure when we do go back, I’ll be ready to be back home again.”
