Before 2020, I loved working from home. I thought I would want to do it all the time. When it was a periodic treat rather than an every day necessity, it felt fun and like a privilege. Now that I have to do it daily, it doesn’t feel so special and I’ve needed to adapt to the situation to establish a workable daily office at home so I can actually get work done.

Every single year since the first Motorola Droid came out in 2007, I’ve bought a new phone. I’m a habitual upgrader, always wanting the latest and greatest in electronics. Every year before, that’s meant grabbing the newest phone at least once a year, and even going through three last year before settling on the iPhone 11. This year, the upgrades just aren’t enough to get me to upgrade. Phones were the most exciting part of consumer tech to me for a while.

This week marks the final week of my parental leave from work. Again, I know how exceptionally privileged I am to even have the option to take paid leave as a father, but I’m already saddened that it’s ending. Like my parental leave back when the twins were born, I had grand schemes of what I would accomplish while on leave. I figured with one child instead of two, I’d actually have time this time to get some house work or personal projects done.

While I’m on parental leave, I’ve begun an experiment to see how often I can use my iPad as my primary computer. I don’t have much need for my laptop while I’m not doing work, so I found myself reaching for the iPad to do quick tasks more often. In fact, I’m even writing this on it. By doing this, I’ve found that there are many places an iPad is just as good as a dedicated computer for getting things done, a few where it’s even better, and of course some major times I have to run to grab the laptop.

I ordered my wife a Peloton Bike for her birthday and I’ve been on it pretty much every day since. I figured I would get marginal use out of it and maybe use it once or twice a week to supplement my running. However, I’ve discovered the great suite of exercise programs that come with the membership, and I’ve used it a ton already. I really didn’t think I’d buy into the religion of Peloton, but a week in and I’m hooked.

On Saturday September 12, after five and a half hours of running through the trails and roads of Sussex County Fairgrounds, the same place I first got a medal for one of my homebrewed beers, I officially became an ultramarathoner, completing my first ever 50K. While it wasn’t easy, I actually felt pretty good after, and I’m already considering how I can go longer or faster, though of course in due time so I can at least recover my weekends for a little while.

This year has involved a bit more running than I originally expected. I aimed to run my first ultramarathon in April, but thanks to COVID, it moved back to September. That meant training up to peak mileage with 50+ mile weeks not just once, but twice. It meant many more weekends spent out on the trails than I expected with a newborn, but it also meant I got to field test a ton of running gear to figure out what is truly critical for me.

For a family that thrives on vacations and travel around the world, one of the worst parts of the pandemic in 2020 is not being able to go anywhere safely. Airplanes are completely out for the risk-adverse like us, and we certainly aren’t heading out on a cruise ship any time soon. But a short road trip to the shore at Cape May seemed like a relatively safe way to get out of the house and spend some time together as a family without exposing ourselves to the risk associated with other forms of vacation.

Four years ago, when our twins were born, I was able to take the full six weeks of parental leave offered by my company to get to bond with them and share a great part of their childhood together. Now, with our nearly five month old, I’m starting six weeks of parental leave again with the hope of spending more time together with him that I’ve had a chance so far and getting to know him a bit better.

This summer, during COVID distancing, I decided to run 1000 km as part of the Great Virtual Run Across Tennessee. Over the past three months, I ran 665 miles, traversing virtually the distance from west to east across Tennessee. I’m now heading back across TN, though I will likely not make it much further as the event ends on August 31. It’s still a pretty major accomplishment, and by far the furthest I’ve run in a three month period.