Life as we know it has changed, but cartoonist Adrienne Hedger is doing what she’s always done: making moms and dads smile.
"We're all in the same boat," Hedger told TODAY Parents.
Hedger, who lives in San Clemente, California, has been drawing on personal experience during coronavirus lockdown. The artist’s husband, Jack, and their daughters, Kate, 16, and Claire, 14, are regular characters.
In one cartoon, Hedger, 46, snaps at Claire for drinking too loudly. Another illustration shows, Hedger, and Jack are shown watching TV and musing about how weird it is to see people gathering in public places. "Stay six feet apart, people!" Jack tells the television. "Spread out!"
Hedger also touches on topics including how no one seems to know what day it is and the nightmare that is distance learning, which she jokes is harder than organizing feral cats into a pyramid.
When California first went on lockdown, Kate and Claire’s school suggested that the students keep their same schedule. Hedger was into that idea.
“I’m a rule follower, so I thought ‘This sounds great!’” Hedger revealed. “But Claire has been going to bed at 1 a.m. and waking up at 11. It’s not what people were advising, but she’s getting the work done and turning it in on time. You can have a quarantine experience that is different from what’s prescribed.”
Hedger also admitted her girls are not using their free time to pick up new hobbies.
“At first, I was thinking, ‘Kate will discover her life passion! She will find her life career. I imagined her emerging with such clarity. But that’s not what’s going on,” Hedger told TODAY Parents. “She’s binge-watching some TV show. There’s a lot of YouTube. There’s a lot of baking. And that’s OK.”