"Interesting" doesn't describe it.

"Unprecedented" doesn't come anywhere near doing it justice.

2020 has been the hands-down craziest year of my lifetime, and Taiob Ali has asked us how we are dealing with it.

Front, center, and all-consuming, of course, is this little pandemic known as COVID-19. Certain people have gone from brushing it off as a hoax, to professing multiple times that we are turning a corner, to declaring victory over the virus even as new case and death records were actively being set. It is nowhere near over and, while there is promise in a forthcoming vaccine, all of our lives have changed as a result.

As an aside, and it sucks to have to clarify things in a way that makes this seem political, but – in spite of Pence's patently false statement – the current administration should not get credit.

Out in public, I see that plenty of people continue to either still think the virus is a hoax, assume they're immune, or refuse to wear a mask or social distance for other (political?) reasons. This is extremely disappointing; even more saddening is that many of these people will only be able to learn the hard way, when it hits them or someone they love.

For me, the direct effect has been minimal. I already worked from home, so Wayfair closing corporate headquarters has had little impact on my day-to-day. My girls are remote learning, so that is a little bit different in terms of noise level, but I really can't complain. I do get to spend more time with them between meetings and classes, at lunch, and because their day ends a little bit earlier than the school bus would be dropping them off. We have a small bubble of friends but we have mostly become homebodies, venturing out almost exclusively for things we need today and/or can't have delivered.

Some things I've done now that we're not leaving the house quite as much:

• Built a new computer
• Did some open source stuff, most notably ParamParser
• Finally got around to all kinds of financial gruntwork, like consolidating multiple 401Ks and 529s
• Rearranged the garage
• Planned out a master closet remodel
• Cooked a bit more – like my eggs, and homemade waffles for the girls just about every weekend

Generally, we've been trying to take as much joy as we can out of the little things. We canceled our 10-year anniversary party in Negril, and instead we celebrated by driving the Cherohala Skyway. We drove to the end, had a gloriously unhealthy burger from Tellico Beach Drive In, spent the night in Asheville, and got some takeout from Lured Market & Grill in Lake Lure on the way home. It wasn't Jamaica, but it was a much more exciting and rewarding trip than it would have been a year ago. And while I love my kids, our little getaway was just so quiet and stress-free in comparison to our new normal.

I feel very fortunate. It is not lost on me that this is November and, sandwiched between two Thanksgivings, I have a lot to be thankful for. Some of our friends and colleagues are having a tougher time with this situation for a variety of reasons; you all have my sympathy and my heartfelt best wishes.