{"id":276,"date":"2022-03-30T10:08:32","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T17:08:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/essential\/?page_id=276"},"modified":"2022-06-06T09:32:25","modified_gmt":"2022-06-06T16:32:25","slug":"maria","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/essential\/maria\/","title":{"rendered":"Maria"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

En espa\u00f1ol<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mar\u00eda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Stress and all that<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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More than a year already!  Yeah, it\u2019s enough\u2026God willing this won\u2019t go on for so long.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About My Picture<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This photo is always going to remind us of this pandemic, which has made us wear masks and maintain social distancing.  I also learned that I missed caring for children, because many moms and many dads weren\u2019t working and didn\u2019t need childcare because of the pandemic.  We are always going to remember 2020 and 2021, sadly.<\/em> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our Interview with Mar\u00eda<\/strong>
Mar\u00eda has operated her center since 1996. Following the onset of Covid, her enrollment dropped by nearly half because once the older school-age children in her care switched to remote schooling, some families decided to leave their younger children at home with their older siblings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mar\u00eda stated that having fewer children was difficult for her financially, and managing children\u2019s occasional emotional flares in reaction to changes and new directives caused her emotional stress. Mar\u00eda further worried whether a parent, a child, or even she could unknowingly pass an infection to the children. \u201cOne has to \u2026 be on top of the kids \u2026 one doesn\u2019t know where [the parents] work, and they could bring the virus, or the children themselves \u2026 or you yourself could bring it and give it to them, couldn\u2019t you?\u201d\u00a0 All this caused Mar\u00eda to feel \u201ca little bit sick\u2026 a lot of stress and all that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aware that she needed extra support and care for herself, Mar\u00eda checked with her health insurance company on non-medical benefits. \u201cThey helped me,\u201d she said.\u00a0 \u201c[Now] when I have the chance, I\u2019ll go get massages.\u201d In addition, Mar\u00eda found that a no-cost physical activity, walking, helped her destress. \u201cI go out to walk with my mask on\u2026in the afternoons after the kids leave\u2026that also helps me a lot \u2026 They tell me, \u2018no way, you still have the energy for walking?\u2019 And I say, \u2018well, I\u2019m doing it for my health.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From full interview transcript of 1,304 words<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mar\u00eda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

El estr\u00e9s y todo eso<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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\u00a1Ya m\u00e1s de un a\u00f1o!  S\u00ed, ya es mucho \u2026 Dios quiera que no sea para tanto tiempo.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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