Part II:

"I decided to use it intermittently, 1 week at work and 1 week at home. This would give me the time to decide what's best for my family. 

So the weeks that I went to work, everything was like it always had been. I receive 100% of my pay and maintain my work hours and obligations. But the weeks that are covered by the CARES Act are different. I  receive 67% of my pay and I work from home.  I will be doing this for 3 months. 

I wish I would have done it earlier. I just didn't know how the virtual learning would work and how we, as a family, would meet the teacher's expectations. 

Losing 43% of my income is not easy. Furthermore, returning to work each week and being behind on my duties is difficult too. But now I have an open line of communication of the teachers and the kids are doing well. I just want my children safe and I want them to learn. 

Everyday we are still adjusting. Adjusting work schedules. Adjusting bedtime and wake times for the kids. Adjusting recreational screen time. And adjusting outside time. But after getting my kids report cards, I feel that it was worth it. I assist more with school work than I would if they were in school physically. I'm now a personal tutor. The teachers are willing to invest in change to ensure that each child gets the most out of virtual learning. And in the end.....My children are safe and they are learning." 

​Contact RealWorkWife @ realworkwife@gmail.com if you have a story you would like to share.
Your Voice and Experience deserves to be heard.

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*Donations are used to assist working moms with childcare payments and to meet other family needs.
​

Real Work Wife aims to bring awareness to different issues confronting working moms. The effects of Covid-19 have been extremely hard for a lot of families. This is such a story. This mom has been required to balance virtual school and work while enacting the Cares Act. 

Out of respect for this mother, her identity will remain confidential.

"I have 2 small, elementary aged children, 5 and 7 years old. The 2020-21 school year was their first year at a new school. So virtual learning for us was extra fresh. In the beginning, things were hard with virtual learning. The teacher spent most of the time explaining to the kids how to work the TEAMs platform. The kids were at different levels. Some of them caught on quickly, while others still struggle now. We, as a family, were bogged down. There were assignments that needed to be completed and classwork that needed to be done. Homework duty began to last 2-3 hours per night. I feared how that was affecting their learning. 

I first found out I was eligible for the CARES Act from my employer. They sent emails and hung posters around the office. I reached out to my HR and completed an application. The CARES Act is like an extension of FMLA and there are also certain requirements the employer must meet as well. Since I hadn't used any time for FLMA, I had 12 weeks I could use towards the CARES Act. It gave you 2 options: continuous leave or intermittent leave."

To be continue...
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Contact RealWorkWife @ realworkwife@gmail.com if you have a story you would like to share.
Your Voice and Experience deserves to be heard.

​Like, Share and Donate.
Donations can be made via CashApp $realworkwife.
*Donations are used to assist working moms with childcare payments and to meet other family needs.