TIM E F O R YO U
The Gift Of Time In A Pandemic THROUGH THE EYES OF A PHYSICIAN MOM
I
Wri t t en by D r. A y u shi C hu gh
t’s past midnight, I lay awake beside my little one, gently caressing his forehead, as he nestles into gentle slumber. Sleepless, anxious, I begin to contemplate these days in the Life of the New Normal as the world is faced with a pandemic. I somehow wish, there were more hours in a day. The kids’ bedtimes have become different: sans nuzzling, kissing, close cuddles, no touching faces. Just a quick, rushed storytime, or catch up, if at all, for often it’s way past ‘usual bedtimes’. We parents are but novices in the art of homeschooling, which in its light brings a somewhat structure-less day. Perhaps it was to ease the burden of ‘agendas’ we humans had so strict3 6 | A P RI L / M AY 2 0 2 0
ly enforced upon ourselves. For many an ‘essential worker parent’ it’s guilt mixed with hope, that upon leaving for work, our kids would faithfully fend for themselves at the cost of dwindling parental discipline and perhaps complete their lessons (in between electronic distractions) as had been planned hastily the night before.
and rest our tired minds. Time to binge some entertainment, self care, home organization, workouts, gardening, reconnecting with nature, itself. Life has become different...perhaps Mother Nature intended to reboot and cleanse itself off of our selfish abuse and overuse of its bounties. Perhaps the Earth wished it could rotate a little slower.
Wish there were more hours in a day. As many around me wonder how to pass their time, I wonder how to stretch my minutes. So much to do, so little Time. Time to sit with patience and teach our little ones, perhaps how nature intended of all its species to teach their young. Time to cook enriching meals, or play lazy board games
Wish I could stay home and re-boot with the rest of humanity. But Duty calls and Sleep evades me as I then wish I could stretch my day more, to gorge down this information overload, hoping to help my patients and community, hoping to create awareness of prevention better than cure, to preserve life. I try to stretch myself beyond
