Working Moms

After 10 years with the Louisiana Department of Health, the time came for me to make a career change. However, we were in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. My current contract was ending on June 30th, and we had not yet made it beyond Phase II of Governor Edward’s Executive Order. Add to that my husband who had been the Sous Chef for L’Auberge saw the news right along with you. So, here we were, both of us, transitioning financially during a pandemic. Fortunately for my husband, his talents were easily transferable to our catering business, Odom’s Kitchen. So, we began posting to all social media platforms and promoting our business harder than we ever had. To say that,...

Why is it I cringe when I have a video meeting and knowing I won't have the help to watch my daughter? Like many other moms, we have found ourselves working from home with babies, toddlers and teenagers at home as well. I am very grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to keep working but I was very stressed on March 13th when the governor announced that schools were closing. Even though my daughter is in daycare, and daycares were still open, I knew eventually they would close. I remember sitting at my desk in my cubical at work, crying big crocodile tears. I didn't know what was next. Being a control freak by nature, I could not control...

I’m a remote employee and have been working from home long before stay at home orders and working from home became the norm. Our kids are young – four and one – and attend daycare. Normally. Stay at home orders were issued, the kids started coughing, and people that worked with my husband began testing positive for COVID. We made the difficult decision to keep the kids home from daycare for at least three weeks to make sure we had not contracted the virus as we didn’t want to spread it to anyone else. We did not get sick but it ended up being five weeks before they went back to daycare. In that time, we accrued a lot...

I'm not the teacher I used to be. This sentiment not only rings true because of Covid-19, e-Learning, homeschooling, and all that has been 2020. Teaching is my passion. I love helping people. I love learning. I love sharing the joy I find in literature with my students. I even like teaching them how to write, despite how painstakingly difficult it can be at times. But... Since having my own child, it has completely changed the way I exist in my classroom. I struggle with my internal anguish over taking care of others' children all day rather than my own son. Being a mom has softened me in some ways. Yet, it has also made my patience wear thin much more quickly...

Uncertain Times I see the apprehension as I step into your room. You aren't familiar with seeing me this way, with so many layers of protection donned between us. Your eyes possess a fear that I am not accustomed to either. "How many are there like us?" she asks, clinging to her coughing child. "You aren't alone, mama," I say in my own attempt to comfort her. I can see her holding her breath when she inquires, "Anything back yet?" and after refreshing the results tab once more, "nothing yet" is all I can offer her. The television in every room blares with breaking headlines. Even those patients not awaiting a test result verdict seem on edge. "Why won't they let...