This morning, I had my alarm set to 06.15 – my usual get-up time – and once my alarm went off, quickly got dressed and hurried to my makeshift desk at the dining table.
Why the ungodly early wakeup call? Because it literally the only way I can manage to be productive – I have to cram as much work as possible into that hour or two in the morning before my children wake up, or I know fine well that peace will be hard to come by.
“What was my Reading Express password again…?”
“Mummy, she hit me!”
“I’m HUNGRY!”
“He scribbled on MY notebook!”
“What does this word mean, mummy?”
“Can we go out now?”
If this sounds familiar, I suspect you are also working from home while homeschooling these days.
Earlier this week, lifestyle editor for Good Morning America and ABC News, Genevieve Shaw Brown, shared a vivid reminder to everyone what life is like right now for those of us working from home with kids.
Shaw Brown, who is also the author of The Happiest Mommy You Know: Why Putting Your Kids First Is the LAST Thing You Should Do is currently working from home with three kids aged 4, 6 and 8 to keep her company. It is not exactly plain sailing, she admits.
“When I decided to count how many times I was actually interrupted during my daily call, it turned out to be 27 times in 11 minutes,” Shaw Brown writes.
And she recorded video to prove it.
https://www.facebook.com/GoodMorningAmerica/videos/302363674101135/
“Ultimately, this will end. We will go back to work,” Shaw Brown writes. “The kids will go back to school. But until then, we’ll need to learn to deal with our new, temporary normal—27 times per conference call.”
Sounds familiar? I know.
And so yes, it’s hard, mums. We are all there – and you are not alone in feeling like you are on the verge of tears every day.
But we will get through this – and one day, live to tell the tale about these crazy days. And by then, I am hoping, it will a little more funny than it does right now!
