Day 55: COVID-19 Motherhood and Work Lifestyle
Day 55: May 20, 2020
Global cases: 5,083,411; Deaths: 329,239
Egypt cases: 14,299; Deaths: 680
Sherihan Elsawah
Assistant to the Dean
School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP)
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 ordeal it has been quite a challenging time for all of us. However, I have been trying to coordinate between my responsibilities as a mom of two girls and my demanding role at work. During this crisis, I have discovered that it could be really useful to reassert my commitment to my personal as well as my professional objectives. I also believe it could be used as a window for all of us to rearrange our priorities and look forward to our altered futures.
My colleagues and I at work managed to establish an effective routine to share information from day one, as we believe that good communication leads to a better results.. The tools and technology we have available to us (e.g. Zoom) can be very helpful in ensuring that we are able to better communicate in meetings and share data, also sharing the calendar and reminders has been very helpful to ease the communication. Having a good team to work with is the most important because we get to learn from one another. We usually have Zoom meetings around twice a week as a team to catch up on everything and discuss the new tasks together and to plan together the upcoming week, to know as a team what each one of us will be working on. We also have two WhatsApp groups that make communication way easier.
Hence, it is this teamwork that enabled us to achieve the current quality of work. Thus, all of this increases the work stability and ensures that we are all able to support each other whenever needed. Motivating each other is crucial as it helps us in keeping going during this particular period and enables us to provide mental and emotional support to one another.
On the other hand, parenting during this particular time is stressful and emotional; handling the virus anxiety along with household responsibilities and homeschooling is a currently a global challenge.
For The Caravan‘s previous diary entries in Arabic and English go to our COVID-19 Special Coverage page.
Motherhood during past times was hectic but given that mothers are now trapped in the house with toddlers and teenagers triples the duties and efforts. We all have a deep confusion about the process of handling our daily routine, while no one knows how long this situation will go on. Eventually, I tried to integrate ‘fun’ in all the household activities in order for my children to participate and enjoy. It is about time that we start thinking about how mothers can adapt to this new lifestyle and make it as smooth as possible.
I am currently juggling working from home with homeschooling and childcare, I hope I stay sane till the post-COVID-19 time. It is an overwhelming responsibility to ensure that the children are getting the best learning outcomes at home. The pandemic challenge has changed how families endure obstacles and hardships in life.
To simply summarize my reality during this pandemic, I have my computer on a desk with a playroom nearby. Having a dedicated schedule for the day and maintaining social distancing is the only way out to survive the pandemic. At last, I am really tired, but I decide to end each day with a prayer and a smile.
