Storyteller: Courtney Pieper
Angie is 25-year-old women, a manager at McDonalds, and a parent of two young children. She explained the first time she heard anything about COVID-19 was when the schools began shutting down. Like many parents, not only was her work life changed but so was her home life. She now had two young children at home, with no childcare. To begin, her hours had been cut, she had to balance work, college, and her children’s schooling, and had to limit her contact and her children’s contact with family and friends. When school had started up again, she had to change her availably as bussing intown had been cut, and the school day had ended an hour earlier than it had the year before. She was also now paying for in-home childcare from a close relative for both her children.
As COVID-19 progressed, she claims the she gained the ability to not take things for granted, as they can change in the blink of an eye, but has also lost many hours at work, for a situation she could not control, and precious time that could have been spent with family and friends. Angie also expresses her struggles with the mask and how it makes hearing and understanding people and coworkers harder. She thought it was ridiculous and funny that at the beginning of this pandemic, everyone had run out to buy toilet paper which resulted in a shortage, and that if she has learned anything from COVID-19 it was “to not take our freedom for granted.”
MIPandemicStory 