This post is written in partnership with Comcast New England.
In scrolling through my camera roll this weekend, I couldn’t help but notice how much these past few months have been lived online, through screens. We’ve celebrated birthdays on Zoom, learned ballet on video chat, checked in with classmates and teachers on Google Meet, worked out with friends via Facebook Live, downloaded 900 worksheets, virtually visited museums and National Parks, watched all kinds of preschool/kindergarten science experiments on YouTube, enjoyed family movie nights in our living room, and FaceTimed with family. (We’ve also been doing all the regular stuff too… like work.)
I’m amazed at how quickly our kids adapted to online learning — and the ease at which they can both unmute themselves to yell something like, “One time I went to my grandparents’ pool!” in the middle of a phonics lesson.
I had the chance to join a call with Comcast New England recently (I promise I kept myself muted and didn’t yell anything about pools) and was not surprised to hear that overall network usage has been up 30% since early March, with video conferencing alone up more than 200% (you can read more about that here).
That so many people have been able to transition to a new way of working and learning is kind of incredible — and of course, I appreciate that this not the case for everyone. We continue to be so lucky in so many ways. We’re still working, and able to do so from home. We have reliable internet and devices to support “school at home” (which, hallelujah and amen, ended last Tuesday) and the bandwidth (both literal and figurative) to manage it all. Not perfectly. Not even close. But we’re doing it.
Along those lines, I was really happy to hear that Comcast will continue to offer their Internet Essentials package for low-income families, with increased internet speed and two free months of internet service if families apply and are approved by December 31, 2020. I know their free public wifi hotspots have been really helpful as well (this always got a shoutout in my daughter’s weekly emails from her principal).
I was also grateful to hear about Comcast’s continuing commitment to racial equity and elevating Black voices and stories, in particular, during the call. Jackie Gadsden, VP of Diversity and Inclusion and Customer Experience for Comcast’s Greater Boston Region, talked about Comcast’s 3 year/$100 million plan to fund social justice and equality efforts, as well as recent employee town halls where co-workers shared their personal experiences with their teammates. It’s so important to see companies both talking the talk and walking the walk.
We also learned about Comcast’s latest apps, products and services (including the popular Peacock) and I was relieved to hear we’re not the only family using the option to pause specific devices or profiles through the Xfinity xFi app on occasion. When our children were newborns, Nick used to joke that he was going to turn off the internet between 10 PM – 5 AM because I’d spend so much time WebMD-ing both real and imaginary issues. I didn’t realize at the time pausing a device/profile was actually a thing– but as Grace and Nicky get older, I am sure it will help with setting reasonable screen time limits (maybe for us adults, too).
Speaking of, we’ve definitely done our best when it comes to balancing time online with time offline. Again, not perfect. Not even close. When we look back on this most challenging of years, I know we’ll remember how much we missed seeing people face to face. We’ll remember the grief of cancelled plans, and the heartache at not knowing when we’ll see our family and friends again. We’ll remember the Zoom birthdays and Google Meet phonics lessons and learning apps and FaceTime calls. We’ll remember constantly forgetting passwords. We’ll remember creating and re-creating systems and lists and cheatsheets to keep everything moving forward.
But we’ll also remember painting kindness rocks and growing a windowsill garden. We’ll remember the meals we shared, the quality time we’ve spent, and all that we’ve gained by being home together. We’ll remember playing outside until dinner time and taking an early and very chilly dip in the kettle pond at the end of street in May. We’ll be grateful for all that we have, and for all the ways we have been able to stay connected. We’ll remember that it took effort and energy to not feel isolated during isolation– and how that effort and energy was never wasted. Thanks for continuing to stay connected and part of my community. As always, you are loved + appreciated.
And many thanks to Comcast New England for partnering with me on this post, and continuing to make all our screen time possible.
Also On Tap for Today:
- Returning our library books (from, like, February)
- Getting a deep clean on before we head to the Cape for the summer (reading these tips first)
- Making our social distanced summer bucket list
We need movie night recommendations — what are you watching? Do you think I’m emotionally ready to watch the final season of Homeland? Or should I wait until, like, 2022?
