{"id":332,"date":"2022-03-30T09:59:58","date_gmt":"2022-03-30T16:59:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/essential\/?page_id=332"},"modified":"2022-04-20T14:58:50","modified_gmt":"2022-04-20T21:58:50","slug":"lucia","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/labs.wsu.edu\/essential\/lucia\/","title":{"rendered":"Luc\u00eda"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

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Luc\u00eda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Suffering because of my job<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ve been caring for children for 24 years now, and of those 24 years, this is the first time I\u2019m suffering.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

About My Picture <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This child, I was caring for him, just him.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I could see more children\u2026Right now because of the pandemic it\u2019s just him.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have had family losses, we\u2019ve all gotten sick.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Family members of my clients have passed away, and mine, too, on both sides.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But \u2026 we\u2019re moving forward\u2026and it\u2019s interesting to me how, although he\u2019s by himself, he\u2019s very happy there, playing.  <\/em>He\u2019s not worried about if there are more children.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s a year and five months old, and I have taught him to put his toys in order, to clean, and to put everything in its place. Sometimes it\u2019s almost traumatizing to have a one-year-old child playing in all the areas, because they don\u2019t know how to clean up. And you have to follow him all day long, and it\u2019s pretty tiring. Because you\u2019re like, \u201cDon\u2019t open that, [don\u2019t] put those in your mouth,\u201d and all that. But I\u2019ve had him since he was a baby, and he knows how to clean up.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our Interview with Luc\u00eda  <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFirst it was the masks,\u201d Luc\u00eda said, \u201c\u2026they were very scarce…we were looking … how can we get the masks? \u2026 And, you know, there wasn\u2019t any bleach, there weren\u2019t any towels\u2026 [the families] needed childcare, and I wanted to provide it, but at the same time we needed everything\u2026we had to keep going\u2026\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Luc\u00eda, who opened her childcare in 1996, has prevailed through the pandemic, she has also experienced its most severe consequences. Early on, Lucia,  her whole family, and some of the families in her care contracted Covid, and some of her own family members and those in her clients\u2019 families died from it.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following those losses, the number of children in Luc\u00eda\u2019s care dropped so profoundly that she worries about the emotional effects on the remaining child.  She noted that though he plays well on his own, she is still concerned. \u201cBefore we had \u2026 a big group of kids,\u201d she said, \u201cand we would do quite a few activities, and now \u2026 it\u2019s just one child and it\u2019s like everything is pretty quiet \u2026 he feels\u2026very alone.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luc\u00eda\u2019s shrunken  childcare enrollment has also caused financial suffering. She talked about struggling to meet basic financial obligations such as house, car, and insurance payments. Cash assistance and supplies from federal and state programs have helped, and Luc\u00eda is \u201cvery appreciative\u201d for the support. She added, \u201cWe have felt that it wasn\u2019t too little nor too much \u2026 the help came to us from all around … and it\u2019s very good.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From full interview transcript of 1,205 words<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Luc\u00eda<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sufriendo por mi trabajo <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Es porque ahorita ya tengo 24 a\u00f1os cuidando ni\u00f1os y de 24 a\u00f1os, es la primera vez que estoy sufriendo.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n