Momma Tales COVID -19: HELP – My Husband Can’t Handle Our Toddler & I’m Still Going to Work
It’s time for another episode of Momma Tales and we need to help Mrs Abe’s husband figure out how to help out!
Meet Mrs.Abe. In this midst of this Coronavirus pandemic, her boss has refused to let her stop working, her toddler’s creche is closing and her husband, even though he wants to help, isn’t.
What should she do?
***
“No, I’m afraid you can’t work from home, Mrs. Abe. Your job requires your physical presence in the office. We are…” My E.D’s voice trailed off as I continued to stare at him in utter disbelief. I was no longer hearing his voice, I just saw his lips moving as he continued his “speech”. I was totally lost in my own thoughts. Were my E.D. and the rest of the Management team living on another planet? Were they not aware of the pandemic and the scourge called COVID-19?
I looked down at my phone as a new message alert dropped in. It was a message from Lami’s Day Care: “Dear Parents, please be informed that the creche would be closed, effective tomorrow…“. I stopped reading as my head swooned. What??!!? Where was I to keep my 8-month old baby if I had to be at work? My Nanny at home was neither equipped nor competent enough to cater to Lami without supervision. No relatives close by to call in to support.
“Babes, what’s up?” Hubby picks up at the 3rd ring. “My office is not giving us the option of working from home. And Lami’s DayCare shuts down tomorrow till further notice.” I was holding back hot tears as I spoke to ‘Boye, my husband. “Babes, Babes, ah ah! Is that why you are sounding so distressed? Com’on, I’d handle Lami since I’d be working from home. That’s okay“. Now the tears just flowed freely. Whether from relief or pent up frustration, I was not sure. “Thank you Beee…I’d call you again in a bit.” I managed to say to my husband before hanging up.
But shouldn’t I be home with my little one at a time like this? Was it too much to ask of my employer? Was I being selfish?{Sigh} This pandemic brings on a whole new, fresh set of challenges for the working mum, employed and self-employed.
The next day, Thursday, I was scheduled to have an early meeting for 9 AM. So I got Lami ready, put her back into her crib, prepped her meals and left a schedule and a care plan for ‘Boye, just to make his day with her easier as he “manoeuvred” through her routines and activities. I got into the office barely 5 minutes before 9 O’clock and dashed into the boardroom where the meeting was to take place. At 9.45 AM I felt my phone buzzing, looked at the screen and saw an incoming call from my husband. Before I could send a message his message came in. “Babesss, it’s urgent. Call us.” Ten minutes later, a second message. “Babesss. Call Now, It’s critical!” I panicked.
I whispered to my colleague sitting beside me and told her I had to handle something about an emergency at home and excused myself from the meeting. As I pushed open the heavy wooden swing doors of the boardroom, I was calling ‘Boye. The phone had barely rung when he picked, “Babesss, it’s not working. At all! I can’t cope. Haven’t been able to get a single work done since morning. Lami is hyper! We are either doing one thing or another. Feeding, changing diapers, playing, crawling, climbing, bouncing….” ‘Boye!” I half screamed to make him stop ‘ranting’. “You mean Lami is not hurt…She’s okay?” “Of course, she’s okay, Babesss. I’m the one not okay“. “Boye, I need to go back to my meeting. Let me call you back. Okay?”
Chai! I had no words. I walked towards the Boardroom.
