Spray. Scrub. Sterilise. Before K can receive a furry and well-deserved cuddle after a long day’s work, he must distance, disinfect, and decontaminate. It is a ritual K takes very seriously. He will do anything to protect his loved ones. And that includes Goldie.

This is a rare, twenty-minute slice of heaven. With the school closure, it has been hard for D to make time and space for her regular practice. Out in the living room, Grandma has generously volunteered to distract the little ones. For now, this is D’s makeshift sanctuary, before she reassumes her role as discipline headmaster.

Slow breaths. She tries her best to focus.

Deliveries have become a way of life in the new normal: daily meals, essential groceries and best of all, unexpected pick-me-ups or care packages from friends and family. It has become a language to express love, concern, or simply to say, “you’re in my thoughts.” In the times we cannot gather, small surprises can bring big smiles.

Thank God this global meeting starts while the kids are still asleep. If it ends early, E can squeeze in a precious hour of focused work before the dewy-eyed, adorable pleas for Peppa Pig begins. But first, an entertaining cameo by her caffeine-starved husband. This won’t be the first time her bosses and co-workers have witnessed his boxers.

M has never dreamt of becoming a baker. Let alone a mini-celebrity. But ever since baking her first red velvet cake during the lockdown, she’s attracted a passionate following. Now she wants to give her audience more. She’s thinking higher production levels… Better lighting. Glossier background. More oomph. And who knows? Maybe in time, she can trade her legal career of affidavits and depositions for Mille-Feuilles and Éclairs.

With increasing time spent at home, personal space matters more than ever. It is a joy to have a private corner where one can bravely hit wrong notes, or keep precious belongings on their side of the room. C adores her younger sister. But she can’t wait to have her own space one day.

H loves hosting his friends. Tonight, will be their first gathering in a long while. He is preparing a crowd favourite. His poached pesto salmon co-stars tomatoes and basil, fresh from his tiny herb garden. In such challenging times, H believes self-sufficiency is more crucial than ever. He would love to have a vertical farm inside his kitchen.

J is used to commanding an army battalion with gusto. Here, he can barely get his three children to stay in their seats. Open disobeying of instructions. Zero attention spans. Cheeky comebacks. Of all the missions he has faced, home-based learning may be the toughest one yet.