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We’re living through some very different times right now, and many are working from home, including single moms. Overnight they have become home-workers, home school teachers and 24/7 care givers. That’s true of our fictional friend, Fran, who has set up a temporary office in the corner of her dining room, and a temporary classroom at the kitchen table for her two kids, Drew and Alice.
As the alarm goes off this Monday morning, she wearily drags herself out of bed to face another day at home with two kids. She has her children enrolled in an on-line summer course to keep them occupied so she can work. After a quiet time with Jesus, she pulls on those comfortable shorts and an old shirt, because after all she isn’t going anywhere today so what she wears doesn’t matter.
She tries to let the kids sleep as long as possible—giving her a chance to get some things done before they invade her world. As she enters her new office, she is confronted with a world of work awaiting on her computer. “Good grief—there are 24 new emails just this morning. What time do these people get up to write to me so early?”
Just as she begins to tackle all that, Drew walks in rubbing his sleepy eyes. “Hey, mom, can we have pancakes for breakfast?”
“Drew, we had pancakes yesterday, right, so today let’s do cereal, if that’s ok.” Fran tries not to continually remind them that she has to work from home and they have to give her a break, because after all it’s not their fault. But they truly don’t understand that she has to spend significant time working from home.
“But I like pancakes better. Can’t you make some pancakes?” Drew doesn’t give up easily.
“Pancakes are for weekends, honey. So, your cereal and milk are ready in the kitchen. Please have those today, okay?” Fran struggles to control her urge to lecture him on how she has to work, but that’s not easy to do.
Well, that’s just the beginning of a day for this working-from-home single mom. Let me remind all of us that these stress-filled times can bring out the worst in us. Our coping abilities are stretched and our patience is challenged. God understands that, and he offers us lots of grace at times like these. So give yourself some grace today and trust God to help you get through another unusual week.