Photo credit: Tracey Bowers-Lee
I’m a graduating Journalism – Mass Media student at Durham College.
Writing stories has always been a passion of mine, and as a journalist, I get to tell other people’s stories.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic closed all schools across Ontario, I have been home with three kids. My daughter Yaharra, 8, my son Yusseuf, 19, and my niece Bryanna, 23.
Yes, Yusseuf and Bryanna may be adults but they are still my kids, and both are in university. They are stressed, sleep-deprived and always hungry. Especially Yusseuf.
Oh, and how dare I forget my fourth…Paul, my husband.
He is an essential worker – he works for Canada Post.
Before, he would get home, sit on the couch, relax a little, then go up to change. Now when he gets home, he has a different routine. One to help keep us safe.
He goes straight upstairs, rids himself of all his work clothes and washes up to avoid the spread of any potential gems.
We have been doing our best to make light of the social distancing restrictions. Being home together isn’t hard but seeing what is happening locally, nationally and globally is disheartening.
The biggest impact on my life has been having the kids home. Cooking every day and maintaining a household, all while keeping up with school expectations.
Yusseuf and Bryanna are both in university but Yaharra requires a lot of attention.
Along with homeschooling, she needs to be regularly entertained.
Being the only little one in a household gets boring quite fast. When Daddy gets home it helps.
We understand the risks of going out and potentially exposing ourselves to this dangerous virus.
The kids have not left the house for three weeks. Yaharra will not be returning to school until September, regardless of what happens. It is hard for her to be away from her friends but she understands we are doing it to keep her safe. To keep all of us safe.
We are doing our part, staying home as much as possible. We are spending time together, watching movies, playing board games and virtually reach out to family, friends, neighbours and colleagues.
I continue to stay vigilant in finishing my semester and graduating. A group of other graduating journalists and I have been working on this podcast focused on the pandemic. We are calling it COVID-CATION because we are home and can do nothing else but contact the world virtually.
The podcast is about the virus and its impact on students around the world. We will be telling impactful, relatable stories, along with spreading some cheer and kindness to listeners.
We are excited to bring light to issues affecting the world, and hopefully help our audience feel less alone. xoxo
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