My return to work is just around the corner. By the time you read this, I’ll already be with my little friends at daycare. I’m so looking forward to going back to work. I’m nearing the end of my 5the I'm on maternity leave and haven't worked in 18 months. That alone is a huge adjustment! But with all the pandemic restrictions, I'm literally panicking.
You read that correctly earlier: 5e Maternity leave... That means, yes, I have five children. Which means I’ll probably be working very little this winter with all the quarantine measures in place. I agree that we shouldn’t send our sick children to school or daycare to prevent the pandemic from spreading again. However, let me tell you something: COVID isn’t the only thing out there. Many other diseases and viruses have existed for centuries and have similar—if not identical—symptoms.
My youngest’s first teeth have just come in. She’s almost 11 months old. I was very lucky she didn’t have a fever; otherwise, she would have had to undergo an invasive test just for a simple case of teething. Any illness that causes a fever requires a mandatory COVID test. With a few exceptions, that’s the procedure. We also have to stay home for 48 hours after symptoms disappear… five times in my case. Minor illnesses often spread within the family. Not to mention that I myself work in an environment where the risk of catching an infection is very high.
I can't work remotely, and I can't bring work home: I'm not the type to kidnap other people's kids ;). My partner works in construction, and he can’t work from home either. So if one of us has to take time off due to a school closure, and to make sense in terms of our incomes, it’ll have to be me. So you can understand that I’m also facing financial uncertainty if I have to take time off often.
I know I'm not the only one. Several other families are dealing with the same issue. Do you have a "game plan" for this winter? How do you plan to handle all of this?