Marie McCauley knows how to juggle a lot in one day.  Before Coronavirus struck in March, she held down two part-time jobsâone at a daycare, and another cleaning houses. Now she manages remote schooling of her six kids.
They range in age from 4 to 17, including her 9-year-old son with ADHD. She says each school day presents a new challenge.
âAll six kids are doing something very different,â she says. âWith a lot of kids your headâs gonna be spinning! Wait a minute, slow down!â
McCauley says her main job now is keeping her kids safe from Coronavirus.
âWe donât let our kids go anywhere,â she says. âNot to the store, not to the park, not nowhere. The only place they go is on the back porch, to have some sunlight, run and play with the balls. Then they come in and wash their hands, change their clothes, because weâve been outside.â
Marie McCauley knows how to juggle a lot in one day. Before Coronavirus struck in March, she held down two part-time jobs one at a daycare, and another cleaning houses. Now she manages remote schooling of her six kids.
They range in age from 4 to 17, including her 9-year-old son with ADHD. She says each school day presents a new challenge.
“All six kids are doing something very different,” she says. “With a lot of kids your head’s gonna be spinning! Wait a minute, slow down!”
McCauley says her main job now is keeping her kids safe from Coronavirus.
“We don’t let our kids go anywhere,” she says. “Not to the store, not to the park, not nowhere. The only place they go is on the back porch, to have some sunlight, run and play with the balls. Then they come in and wash their hands, change their clothes, because we’ve been outside.”
Looking back at my previous
New Statesman diaries, I was struck by how much of the column was filled by accounts of what I had done and where I had been. This year, like everyone else, I don’t really have that option. “Nothing much” and “nowhere interesting” doesn’t make for particularly gripping reading. In fact, it is sometimes difficult to remember anything about this year apart from the pandemic. I even ended up splitting the
Private Eye Annual into two sections – 2020 BC (Before Coronavirus) and 2020 AD (Anno Dominic Cummings). However, I was determined in this diary to be more positive and to focus on the activities that were still possible in the new normal.