Pandemic Dad

The year is 2020. Everything is shutdown. The virus is everywhere. Florida has just issued its state-at-home order. Jeff never planned for this. He was struggling already as a project manager working a 60-hour-a-week career and caring for his 11-month-old daughter, Chloe. He was also just assigned an acting director role in his department, which meant only more stress to come. But when things closed in the world, he was thrust into an impossible situation. With daycares closed, and his wife, Charlotte, a first responder at the local hospital, he had to watch Chloe at home throughout the day by himself while keeping his demanding job afloat. With the help of a trusty robot sidekick, named Kit, Jeff has to rework everything at home to survive. He has to rethink his home workspace to keep Chloe in constant view, the way he manages his workload due to Chloe’s constant need of attention, and even adapt his mental capabilities to new extremes since taking notes, managing schedules and budgets, and hosting meetings has become too difficult. This memoir follows Jeff through six months of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. Each chapter provides a glimpse of real pandemic events going on in the world outside their Palm City, Florida home. It then details true accounts of the struggles, laughs, and tough decisions going on inside their home at the same time. In this true story about the mental and physical marathon that Jeff endures to outlast the pandemic, he has to overcome feelings of guilt, neglect, and even depression to maintain Chloe’s heath and development, his marriage, and his own mental health. The pandemic would put all of these to the ultimate test. (Approximate 63k words)