“We’ll miss staying in our PJs, playing old-fashioned games, enjoying dance parties, and baking 5 batches of cookies. When the house is empty one day, I know I’ll give anything to go back to the days when your fingerprints were all over the front glass door, the floors were sticky, and your presence was right within my reach.”
‘Dear kids, I know we’re driving each other crazy, but I’m pretty sure we’ll look back on this time and miss it.’: Mom learns to ‘cherish every moment’ during quarantine
‘Today I received disappointing news. As a wife and mother I dropped the ball, and I failed.’: Woman says ‘our mental health is just as important as our physical health’ after friends’ act of kindness
“My husband works long hours at our local hospital. I haven’t seen another human being besides my stir-crazy toddlers in a long time. Before I knew it, I had comfort food, a bottle of wine, and two very missed faces on my lawn. They only stayed a few minutes and well over 6 feet away, but those few minutes gave me what I desperately needed to continue moving forward.”
‘My toddler screams, ‘Mommy, CHANGE MY BUTT,’ during my conference calls.’: Mom says ‘today you’ve done enough, give yourself some grace’
“Meanwhile, in an alternate universe, moms everywhere are having a field day with their perfectly color-coordinated school sessions and craft projects. People are using this time to get fit, eat better, organize their homes and closets. Crossing off line items on their to-do lists like it’s their job – and then there is me.”
‘Unpopular opinion: we should not be transitioning in-school learning to at-home learning. No grades. No assessments.’: Teacher urges at-home learning ‘does not work for everyone’
“No business as usual. Because this is NOT usual.”
‘You will want to remember how it felt to wake up and ask, ‘What did I do yesterday? Did I shower? Did it rain?’: Woman says ‘remember these strange days when the horror wears off’
“I want you to remember this, because years from now, a lifetime from now, when we’re leaving somewhere, saying goodbye, when I’m hugging you tight and tighter still, and we both laugh, and yet I don’t let go—you will know why.”
‘Both on the verge of tears one announces, ‘He smacked me.’ I check for blood, bruising. ‘She was using too much toilet paper!’: Mom shares hilarious ‘chaos’ of quarantine with multiple kids
“I was sound asleep when I suddenly hear a knock at my bedroom door. My heart jumps. The pounding in my chest gets louder. Both children are standing at the door, both upset. ‘It’s 2:30 in the morning,’ I firmly reminded them. I am trying to figure out how I can self-isolate in my closet, but they keep finding me.”
‘One more week of trying to put a smile on through tears. One more week of hearing you say, ‘Mommy, I can’t wait to kiss you again. How much longer will this be?’: Nurse mom says ‘cherish this time for those of us who can’t right now’
“One week of air hugs through Facetime. One more week ahead of wondering if this will be the week we’ll run out of PPE completely. One more week ahead of uncertainty, of masking up and walking into the unknown. We will come out on the other side.”
‘Make sure your kids have a schedule. But let them be kids. Homeschool. You don’t need to homeschool. Teach them life lessons instead. And common core.’: Woman candidly shares reality of mixed messages during pandemic
“Don’t let your kids outside. Don’t leave them home if you go out. Give them fresh air. Keep them home. Is that a cough? Is the tightness in your chest anxiety or the virus? Just breathe. But don’t be irresponsible. That’s not sickness that’s your fear. It’s okay, we’re all stressed. Treat yourself to some junk food. Not too much. You need to keep your immune system up.”
‘They tell me, ‘Go back to your country.’ Many of my patients ask to switch nurses. I’m not Chinese, and I was born and raised in America.’: Nurse vows to continue to fight ‘despite obstacles’
“I head into the shower and visciously scrub my skin until my eczema flares up to match the raw, peeling skin behind my ears from wearing masks all day. I sleep alone, without my special someone. I park my car in crevices to power nap on a makeshift foam mattress in the back of my trunk after a 12-hour shift to head right into another 8-hour shift. I will continue to fight, no matter the obstacles.”
‘I have to send my 3-and-a-half-year-old child away. I won’t get to visit her. I won’t get to hug her. I won’t get to tuck her in at night.’: Nurse mom says ‘I feel punished for having to be the ‘good guy‘
“This is the face of someone who feels punished for trying to be the ‘good guy.’ My job as an ER nurse is just that, my job. This is my current situation.”
