Anger at COVID-19

 

Photo Credit: Online pic. Child neglect.

Working from home.

Working from distractions is more like it because, home is not Victorian England serenity in a castle. Home distractions are one of the reasons why we’re mad at COVID-19, the primary reason being the fear of catching it and dying.

Definition: a distraction is something that prevents you from doing what you like. Surfing the internet for example. You have shares in wi-fi. That is why you live for social media, keeping tabs on the business competition, your ex, developing an app you hope Facebook will buy, playing online games and visiting certain sites every ten minutes.

We’re mad at the virus because it exposes the lie that we relish the idea of working from a place full of distractions, such as taking out garbage, listening to in-house partners we long discovered are a mistake, grocery shopping with the same partners and the main distraction, kids.

Kids want company. It’s nature’s way. They adore you, mimic you and smile for no particular reason. They are new to this world, so they touch things and your face as they surf the internet that is you.

It’s fiction, but the French classic film Trois Hommes et un Couffin, directed by Coline Serreau, tenderly captures kids’ propensity to touch. In one scene, Pierre, one of the three bachelors sharing an apartment, feeds baby Marie. She touches him all over the face while sucking her bottle.

Eye Contact A Distraction

If nature had its way, working from home will be work done when kids are asleep because they learn by looking parents in the eye. It precedes speech.

Parents don’t have an eye to offer because they are glued to the computer screen, which to them is more important than kids on their laps. It’s fascinating how they know when parents are angry. This frustrates them and they bawl their lungs out.

The crying becomes a distraction because you really want to comment on that celebrity’s divorce settlement or watch NBA playoffs. We are mad at COVID-19 because working from home is not new. Parents had a home office and kids knew that it was out of bounds.

‘Don’t disturb daddy. He’s working.’

That was then. The office moved to the laptop and both mum and dad can work from home. Nature said kids are important. They are fascinating. They bring joy and so much untapped knowledge.

Parents don’t agree. Google has all the answers.

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.