I am a Nurse. I can't stay home. I am a mother. I wish I could stay home.

I have been in healthcare the last 13 years, I have never even for one day NOT worn my scrubs proudly, yesterday-I wouldn't even wear my clean scrubs in public to the grocery store in fear I would get scrutinized and thought to be "dirty" and carrying and spreading the corona virus. I didn't want to feel bad for being a nurse, I didn't want to feel guilty for being a nurse and doing my job. In the meantime, grocery store employees and shoppers are wearing the same gloves to touch everything and reusing masks.


I only work 1-2 days a week, but yesterday I was anxious to go to work, anxious to leave my house. We got the news the state was going to get shut down and I wasn't prepared. We needed more groceries and supplies. I didn't want to leave my kids, but in this scary and uncertain time I'm leaving my home and my family to care for other's children, parents, grandparents and spouses. We are protecting them from this virus as well. Driving 45 minutes away from home, taking our own temps before we can start work. Being low on supplies, having to make our own masks, bringing our own handsanitzer, usually understaffed. Telling us we aren’t allowed to wear masks and have to change them between every room if we do- we don’t have enough to do that. We don’t have enough to protect ourselves. Then you see all these people on social media complaining. Complaining that they are stuck home and their kids are driving them crazy- it's annoying, it's not funny. What I would give just to stay home and not even have to worry about working 1-2 days a week let alone my coworkers working 4 days. My best friend included, with a son with asthma. She is extremely anxious as well and thinks we are all going to die. These are the type of things people should be thinking about. On a regular basis we worry about tracking stuff home, but this is worse. Nurses are stripping their scrubs off on their front porches, in their basements. Nurses are standing outside visiting their children through windows. We don't have it as bad as ER nurses or doctors, but Ben and I are both essential workers and will be working through this epidemic.

I'm grateful for not having to work more than 1-2 days a week so you all should be grateful your jobs get to shut down and some have the opportunity to work from home and you don't have to leave the house and your family. Yes this is a inconvenience, especially on the families that don't have income coming in, but spreading the virus will make other's lives more of a inconvenience if they get this virus-if they don't survive this virus. You will survive the boredom, you will survive your children. The inconvenience is temporary, your life is not more important than anyone else's. Don't go out unnecessarily. Listen to the medical experts. Please stay home, so we can do our jobs and not worry about when the next time we’ll be able to hold our children will be. Wondering when we’ll be able to see our parents and when they’ll get to see their grandchildren again.

This week and for the rest of the school year we are embarking on a new journey of homeschooling/ distance learning. I'm really excited, but we are definitely going in almost blind and have no preparation. This has been one day at a time. The last year I have considered home schooling-especially when my 1st grader would cry every morning that he didn't want to go to school because the math was hard, when my 5th grade daughter struggles in math and tests- and there wasn't a lot that I could do to help. Now I get to know exactly what they are learning day by day and I get to be apart of that. I get to teach them. My daughter's teacher has been so amazing this past week. She has been staying in touch, giving the kids social studies projects to make, sending videos of her reading books, she asked to call and she even sent a letter! She has gone above and beyond!!

This past week my kids have never been more tired, they go straight to bed at night and even turn their own lights off-why? Because I don't let them rule the house, I don't let them have a free for all. We learnt. We have structure. We made a schedule, that will probably be revised a million times before the end of school. We did hand on activities, science experience and art. I made sure I grabbed ink and printed out math worksheets then got math workbooks on amazon by grade level. I googled (a lot) and found stuff to do with them. Because as much as you are bored, the kids are getting bored too and they miss their friends and teachers. They went outside and built a huge fort- they acted like kids. We've walked every morning for the last week- it doesn't have to be long. Amazon is still delivering as of right now. Buy some puzzles, make a scavenger hunt, paint, a sun print kit, food coloring, construction paper, seeds, create with legos. Send a letter to someone you love and spread some light and love. You can do so much with these things. Stop complaining and start creating memories at home. Be grateful. Stay well.


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