Unexpected Opportunities, Pregnancy + Omicron, and How Chocolate Fixes It All
Ok, so maybe chocolate doesn’t actually fix everything… but right now it feels pretty close.
Right now it’s a weird AF time to be pregnant. I feel like each new year over the past decade, especially, has brought some new and unexpected challenge. Divorce, in and out of court for a decade with my ex, DATING ugh, finishing undergrad, graduate school, starting various jobs, finally finding the right guy, and a surprise third pregnancy. Anytime someone asks me where do I see myself in five years I laugh because none of this was predicted.
In regards specifically to pregnancy and COVID, I honestly hadn’t been too worried about it until recently. I work in a school, with lots of kids (clearly). We go as young as three years old. COVID has done a real number on kids, and I’m talking about their social emotional health. You can ask anyone in a school and they will tell you it’s pretty obvious. Children are not as emotionally developed as they might otherwise have been. I think that’s to be expected- I also think as a result we need to really examine our education system and the expectations we have for teachers, students, AND PARENTS. Because parents are a part of that ecosystem as well. But that’s a post for another time.
As it became more apparent over Christmas break that Omicron was a no joke, for the first time I became really worried about how this could affect me. I’m vaccinated. My kids are. We’re boosted, etc. But… I also know me. I know anytime I have encountered a child in the classroom and they are crying, or sad, or just need aa hug for whatever reason- I don’t hold back. A child says “I need Mommy” and I tell them I’m a Mommy too- and I can give them Mommy hugs. Sometimes kids just need a hug, and so often it’s the little ones. The ones who are confused by all of the everything happening around them.
So with all of that, I made the difficult decision with my OBGYN to see about working from home. I figured – I’ve done it for the great majority of the pandemic anyway, so why not? My employer would come back with the offer of unpaid FMLA, or part time work from home and be allowed to keep my benefits. Putting aside any frustrations I may have, given that I had worked from home successfully AND increased numbers from years prior, it was obvious that working part time from home was best. The next day, the first day back at school. there would be a three year old who didn’t come to school because of COVID. And then another one later. I felt justified in my decisions.
As fate would have it, other part time gigs would become available. A friend needing social media work for a growing business, a local college needing someone to step in and teach for a few weeks (college students at least are vaccinated, can wear masks, keep their distance, have a protective barrier for the professor at the desk, and don’t need the hugs that three year olds do), and the ability to stock up my online store as well as help my boyfriend with admin duties for his job.
Today is a Sunday, and I will be on the clock so to speak- working to get it all done. Much as I did in my full time freelancing days. Is it frustrating that there’s no real good answers for how to make it through COVID and still protect myself and my babies? AND make a living*? (*noting my guy has been super supportive and would handle it all, but we are a team and I’m going to do all I can while I can.) Yeah. It is.
But today there was a new kind of Lindor Truffles at Walgreens as I picked up yet another bottle of heartburn medication, heartburn being the one constant over these last several months (along with family, boyfriend, and friends). So… chocolate to provide some small relief, and a reminder that I am incredibly lucky and that God has provided for me at every step.
Oh, and, if you want to buy some cute jewelry you can do that- too 😉
