Working from Home
Like many of you, I am entering my 10th month of both working full time from home and being full time child care provider. I have struggled with all the feels including anxiety, stress and extreme mom guilt. I have gained weight, lost all control of screen time limits, and developed some very unhealthy stress coping mechanisms. All while trying to stay educated on the ever changing challenges of COVID-19 and learning to recognize my economic and racial privileges during this time.
I am learning to balance the nuances of my situation with the differing realities that many parents face across the country. I have been privileged to continue to work and receive a paycheck throughout the pandemic, and I have had a strong support network to carry me when I felt overwhelmed. But I recognize this is not the case for many working families with young children, and it is not lost on me that it is from within the security and privacy of my own home that my that my heart aches for these families.
I have been “that mom” in the community chat to defend the reopening of local parks. While I understand it is difficult for municipalities to sanitize and monitor the number of participants on a playground, parks are a necessity for children like mine without a backyard.
I have been on both sides of the “back to school” discussion because as a parent who watched her child’s mental health decline from being socially isolated for 3 months, it is impossible to not weigh the mental health declines that children across the country will be facing long-term. However, I have not been a proponent of those who simply want schools to re-open because it is good for the economy. Alarmingly, I recently participated in a round-table with a member of congress who, in regards to children stated, “some might get sick, but it is likely they won’t die.”
I talked to four different moms in one day, and each expressed completely different concerns/preferences for their child regarding school attendance. Our kids are different and have different needs, and parents have different capacities to be full time care providers/educators.
I do not pretend to know all the answers, and I believe that each family must make important decisions based on their family needs. It is my hope that we can give grace to others as we are figuring out some tough shit.
