A work -from-home mom.
Not a typical work day. I wake up, say good morning to my husband (who normally wakes up earlier than me) and then I freshen up. I go straight to the refrigerator, for a glass of water, and to choose what to cook for breakfast. I walk around the kitchen for some stretching while preparing the things I need for cooking. While doing it, I have my gadget within reach to check for emails and prioritize my to-do-list. When food is done, I set the table for everyone, then I see the kids if they are awake and give them sweet good morning kisses. As for my breakfast, I just grab a hot chocolate and toast and I would go straight to my work desk.
Now that you’re set to work, as a mom, expect to hear your kids calling you for something “Mom, water please”, “Mom, snacks please” and if you have two or more kids expect frequent sibling fight over things, or shouting and running as they keep busy playing. For a focused work, you may opt to close the door and keep a monitor of you kids. Work will not be easy on you when you’re working from home, it’s the same expectation. So find a way to focus and to do your best at the time you set to do the work.
When there’s so much to do, I barely notice time and then it’s mid-day and I have to take a break not really to rest, but to cook and prepare lunch. We only have one hour lunch time, so either I have a pre-cooked meal ready or an easy-to-cook food on the grab so I’ll have enough time to prepare and eat with family. After this, I’m back to my work desk, while the kids have their “gadget time”. This is my strategy to keep them busy, since most of the meetings happen after lunch to night. And so work goes on.
Work doesn’t stop, unless you decide to end it. And what follows here is the evening routine. When work extends to the night (which I try to keep at the minimum), my husband knows that he has to call for outside food delivery and I expect a co-worker to already sit down next to me, either with a toy, a food, or a game to play in their own gadget/laptop. In this part, I think it’s OK, because technically, it’s already my time with them being eaten up by work. I have to finish quickly so I can have time to play, teach, and freshen up the kids before bed time. And tomorrow is another day.
So that’s how moms double up this quarantine. The new normal is having kids in your work space and still EXCEL AT WORK AND having work in your home space and still be the BEST MOM/WIFE EVER. The struggle is real. But with the grace from Almighty, love from family, and support from work, you can carry on.
Hugs to all working (from home) mommas!