Life During a Pandemic

Sturgeon Falls, Canada:

Living in the small town of Sturgeon Falls during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 has caused me, a young mom, to face many challenges. First, there is a shortage of many necessities at our local stores, especially baby supplies. In addition to crazy mom hormones, another challenge are the many thoughts, fear, and emotions constantly on my mind. Finally, being at home with your family can become a little chaotic as people begin to go stir crazy, leading to fights, discipline, and a bunch of grumpy people! Of course, we are living a pandemic; it’s not supposed to be easy!

First of all, the shelves at the grocery stores, drug stores, and Dollarama have become empty. Grocery shopping has become difficult, as half of the stuff you need… isn’t available. Being a mom of a five-month old also requires shopping for many baby necessities as well. Diapers, wipes, and bath products have become impossible to find. Luckily, we have a decent amount of washes and shampoos that we got from our baby shower; we use even though they are not the preferred brand. Diapers and wipes on the other hand, I have had to ask family members and friends to pick them up for me as they are in different cities. We have managed to get a few cloth diapers for emergency purposes.  The shortages of supply have taught me to be conservative and to expect the absence of many products, including baby products.

Furthermore, being a new mom is a hard adjustment to your everyday day life; it’s more challenging when you consider the fact that there is a virus ravaging the world, adding fear to their lives. As any mom does, I am trying my best to protect my precious daughter, and the rest of the household from becoming sick. The thought of going out in public during the Covid-19 pandemic has me terrified and overflowing with anxiety! My mother and sister have still been going out and not taking precautions has us spending most of our days it the bedroom to avoid them. The fact that they are still going out annoys me, it upsets me and makes me angry, but most of all, it fills me with anxiety and worries me. I am constantly living in a state of panic and needing to sanitize everything and avoid everyone so keep my baby safe. Being stuck in the house has also caused me to look beyond my current feelings and examine the emotions I have yet to dealt with prior. I have looked, reflected upon and learned from my past behaviours, and healed what had yet to be. Being stuck in the house due to the Coronavirus has got me anxious, worried and analyzing past events and emotions like my brain was switched to a hardcore thinking mode, which is not always an easy thing to deal with.

Finally, being stuck with everyone at home almost constantly, is a recipe for disaster! The first couple of days were not so bad, after a few weeks it became a chaotic mess. Everyone is bored, everyone is irritated with one another and everyone is grumpy. My sisters are grumpy. My mom is grumpy. I am grumpy. We get into fights and arguments and it always ends up with someone being in trouble. Now that the weather is warmer, we’ve been getting out of the house and doing our own thing more, but there are some days that are in more disarray than a shoe store that only sells left shoes.

In conclusion, living during a pandemic is not easy at all. It is almost impossible to find the proper diapers and wipes for my daughter’s sensitive skin, along with many other necessities. I am constantly worried about potential catching Covid-19 or someone passing it onto my daughter. Not to mention, everyone in the household has been driven crazy by one another. Overall, the worlds a mess!