Editor’s note: Social distancing means we can’t all be together right now, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still check in on each other. “Checking in with … ” is a series doing just that. If you have suggestions about who we should feature, please email us at newsroom@gazettenet.com with the series name as the subject line.
Who lives in the same house as you? Devontae Dellarosa (15, HEC Academy in Northampton), Ramona Dellarosa (10, Leeds Elemenary School) and Bino Dellarosa (9, Leeds Elementary School)
What does a typical day look like in your house? I’m a CNA, and I work double shifts at Highview nursing home in Northampton on Fridays and Saturdays, so on a typical workday, I get up in the morning, take a shower and am out the door by 7:15-7:30 a.m. Highview is on restriction, so once employees enter the facility, we can’t leave to get coffee or food or anything, so I have to make sure I bring enough food in with me for the day. Then I’m running up and down the halls all day. I don’t leave until 10 p.m. Then, when I come home, it’s a whole other project: I take my clothes off at the door, take a shower, spray my shoes with disinfectant, spray the door handles. I am constantly disinfecting everything in the house. I don’t want to be the one to bring home anything to my kids and my mom. My mom comes to take care of the kids on Thursday and stays until Sunday morning so I can work my double shift. That way, she doesn’t have to come so often. A friend watches the kids on Wednesdays, when I work a regular shift.
How are you juggling kids at home with your other responsibilities? For the kids, my oldest son, Devontae, has Live Google classroom from 10-11 a.m. every day, where they help him with his work for the day. Then he’s supposed to check in with his other classes by himself, but a lot of times it’s too much for him to manage on his own, and I just don’t have time to fight that battle every day. Both Bino and Ramona have IEPs, so twice a week, they have half-hour Zoom meetings right after Devontae logs out of Google classroom. Today I’m going to try to figure out Google classroom for them, but to be honest, I just don’t have time to do all this. I myself am a student at Greenfield Community College, and the class I’m taking this semester was converted to an online class, which seems harder to manage than an in-person class. Every Tuesday, I have a live Zoom class to attend; every week, we have to write a 350-word discussion response and then we have to write an in-depth response to three other people. In place of a group project we were supposed to do, we are now doing a Wiki online group project, and then I have a persuasive essay due as well. I have a learning disability; it’s really hard for me to manage all of this at once. For the first time in my college career, I’ve finally asked for an extension so I can finish everything later this summer. I honestly can’t wait for school to be over so that I can actually have a day off.
How are you getting the things you need: groceries, entertainment, exercise, anything you consider essential? Groceries are becoming easier to get now that they’ve limited how many people can go into the store at a time. As far as exercise and entertainment, I really have no time to do either of those things. I would like to go to the gym or the YMCA, but they aren’t open due to the shutdown. This time has been pretty stressful and depressing, to be honest. As far as getting essential things, such as Lysol and disinfectant or hand sanitizer, I haven’t managed to find any anywhere! Which makes things very difficult, considering that I work in a nursing home, which is already high risk. It makes it hard for me to disinfect my house in order to protect my children and myself.
Any good suggestions to offer? I made a daily calendar so that kids know what time they have to do online school every day. I am trying to keep things as “normal” as I can for the kids.