Lessons Learned from a Year Spent WFH & Homeschooling my boys
May is here and we're officially in #Africanwedding season. As some of us prepare to hit the streets and squeeze back into our work clothes and return to the office, it's a good time to review the last year and what it's been since Covid-19 got real. Here are 7 of 101 life lessons I've learned in the past year:
Teachers deserve their own shrines:
What are you guys? Angels? So this post isn't for the mean, discriminating, I-chose-teaching-cause-I-couldn't hack it ones. I'm talking about the ones who have helped us (parents) keep it together through a very difficult time. Not all angels have wings. From students sleeping - in their beds - during classes to parents cussing like sailors in Kindergarten virtual classes. I have a feeling this year's Teacher's Appreciation Week will be HUGE!
Life is too short and too unpredictable to be in a career you really don't like:
If you're an African immigrants then you know how revered medical careers are in the community. And to be a doctor/physician? So imagine how weird it was to watch nurses/doctors become individuals we were scared of and SCARED FOR! And I should know. My mom's a nurse. The strain on anyone in those careers, working shift after shift with insufficient PPE, watching patients die alone, consoling grieving families and going home to scared families.
Now imagine dealing with all that in a career you hate. Sounds like torture to me. I guess what I'm trying to say is, nothing is promised. So if you're going to spend a great deal of your life doing something, let it be something you like (at least).
An apology is always a bonus:
Pre-pandemic, I had one mantra "No apology, no ceasefire"
I owe it to my readers to say that mantra is absolute trash! Remember when we would "pull" someone to the side, look them in the eye and dissect a missituation?
Yup. The Pandemic took that away from us. And don't you dare bring up Zoom when you know Zoom Call-outs have a very different vibe. More importantly, death rates rose were so alarming that forgiveness was a must. I'm talking life or death! One day you're having itty-bitty-petty arguments and the next day, someone's on a ventilator. I had to learn how to move past not getting a conversation or an apology.
Anyone wondering: So what how did you do it, Biodun?
Me: I ranted, raved, prayed for strength, thought I had let it go, got triggered, did a whole rant & rave again, went back to the Lord on my
There's a Homebody version of me too:
Turns out I like padding around my home barefoot and drawing purple castles on my garage floor, building stem castles and taking 2am baths. I loved not having to think about what to wear or if my makeup is "dated". And yeah, everyday was No Bra Day (my back says Thank you). In another time/place, I would make a terrific recluse/hermit.
5yr olds don't care:
Try getting my 5yr old to sit still and answer questions. Since we sit side by side in my home office, it's my job to keep him on the straight and narrow. If you follow me on IG, you are probably tired of reading my rants about this. I don't think I talk enough about how much I've learned about teaching kids (that don't involve yelling), Black history, what other parents say to their friends when they think they're muted and 22 facts about soil. I can list a whole bunch of machines and I drew an Octopus last week. Now if only he could learn what I do at my day job so I can take some time off....
I still need "Unstucking":
TBH, this pandemic year showed me that while I have evolved, greatly - I've still got work to do. Like shopping online. Shopping online for the first 3 months was like pulling teeth. I would forget that I even placed the order and get a lil anxious when the delivery guy showed up. I got to shop for actual groceries on Instacart. Best believe I will be making a video about popping my Instacart cherry.
My kids are heroes and they deserve accolades:
Shout out to my boys King C and P who handled social distancing, masking up and quarantining like Bosses. When I was P's age, I was stomping around my neighborhood climbing guava trees riddled with ants with pockets full of my lunch to feed stray chickens. If I had to stay inside my house for a year!!! I might have run away.
And I know that we (Association of Millennial African Parents) love to talk about how our kids have it easy but I don't know many people who got to experience a period as scary as this (outside of civil unrest, of course). So if you're a parent, this is a reminder to love on your lil ones and let them know they are doing their part in keeping their community safe.
So there! What's the greatest lesson you've learned in the last one year? Did the last one year reveal something shocking about yourself?
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