A Day in The Life of a Mom Working Virtually in the Age of Distance Learning
Many parents around the globe are experiencing a profound shift in their daily lives- well beyond their daily routines- when the world began to see the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Working moms had to figure out how to transition their job virtually, and then juggle both work and childcare simultaneously. Today we interviewed one of our own, Angela Wynn, Director of Support at Worxbee. The mother of 5 has been sheltering with her children in her home state of Tennessee since the beginning of the pandemic.
As Director of Support, Angela is responsible for sourcing and recruiting our highly qualified Virtual Executive Assistants as well as facilitating our Virtual Executive Assistant pairing process here at Worxbee. With over 20 years in the administrative space, Angela has been the thought partner and right hand to CEOs, Senior and Managing Partners at globally recognized law firms as well as entrepreneurs. Her experience provides her with the unique ability to not only bring in amazing talent but to also pair our Virtual Executive Assistants with clients based on their specific needs. And she does it all virtually!
Read on to learn more about her daily life of being a mom and our Director of Support during the age of distance learning.
What is the best thing about seeing your kids all day?
Seeing all of their milestones. As a working mom, I wasn’t able to see all of my kids’ firsts. Now that I am home, I’m able to see all of them with my two smaller ones and enjoy some of the milestones my bigger ones are having as well as time to go to school activities like field day and musical programs.
What is the hardest thing about having them home all day?
Hearing all of their milestones!
Hacks for when the stress starts to kick in?
Hiding in my closet and meditating for 10 minutes using my meditation app.
We know your daughter loves Frozen! How many times have you watched Frozen 2?!
Actually only 5 times. There have been way too many other movies holding their attention right now (the latest was Troll’s Word Tour).
With your husband also being home, do you switch off throughout the day? What does that looks like?
At this point the kids end up wherever they end up and we accommodate based on what we are doing. There are times when meetings overlap so we put a kid in front of the TV, stuff them full of snacks and pray for the best!
Are you sending your kids to school, doing distance learning, or homeschooling this fall?
All of my children will be distance learning.
What do you do for yourself?
By playing the Sims for hours on end while blissfully ignoring my mom duties.
What's the biggest lesson your family has learned from the pandemic?
That they are not hungry all the time, they just need to find something to do that doesn’t involve burning their eyeballs in front of a TV screen!
What does a day in your life of quarantine look like?
Pretty much the same as it usually is when the kids are home during the summer, only no family vacations (they have one without us and one with us, and then we do one without them), no end of summer bbq at the house for friends, and our groceries get delivered.
And the best for last, What would you tell other parents struggling in the age of distance learning?
Give yourself grace. Everyone is experiencing this for the first time and we are all doing the best we can for our families. We all need to support one another in the hard decisions we have to make around work and especially school. Finally, love on your teachers and school staff as much as you can and give them their due credit. They are working hard to ensure our kids are able to be educated safely!
