TEXAS – As the school year begins, many Texas families are having to make major changes to their lives to accommodate virtual learning and the Vera family is no exception.
What You Need To Know
- Single mom is is an EMT/conducting COVID testing
- 20-year-old quit job to care for siblings
Twenty-year-old Josephine Vera had to quit her full-time job so she can be home with her younger siblings in the fall and help them with virtual school, while their mother picks up extra shifts at work just to afford the tools needed for at-home learning.
“My eyes are tired," said Vera, yawning at 7 a.m.
Although the school year hasn't started yet, she's still up early, teaching herself Korean.
“Self-learning, it was hard to start. Once I started, I got on a roll," said Vera.
Her motivation came from listening to K-Pop music.
“That’s like where it started from, just wanting to be able to understand them when they were singing," said Vera.
In addition to arts and crafts, it’s how she spends her time at home with her 13-year-old sister Eva and 16-year-old brother Jacob.
Having time for a hobby is new for Josephine, who quit her full-time job in July to help take care of her siblings.
“I’ve been working since before I finished high school. And it’s always just been go, go, go," said Vera. "I know I am a really hard worker. And so, I was fine with it because I hadn’t taken a break in a long time."
But it wasn’t a break she planned on taking.
“I’m gonna be the one, like, making sure they stay on task and they do what needs to be done for school," said Vera.
She’s stepping up to help as their mom works even longer shifts than usual as an EMT.
“She was required to do the coronavirus testing, so she'd work, then go do that on top of her 24-hour shift," said Vera.
Her mother, Diana Vera, has also been picking up extra shifts to pay for expenses like a laptop. She says her son never got his school Chromebook back from the district after sending it in for repairs.
“I want to make sure that they have a computer and they have whatever it is that they need to be successful in their education because I didn't work this hard for my kids to not have every opportunity available for them in their future," said Diana Vera.
Working more and being home with her children less isn’t easy.
“A lot of times you feel like you're out of touch with what's happening with your kids, you know, especially with being a single parent," she said.
The burden of extra work is magnified by the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I would call my mom— I'm like, 'Mom, I hope I can make it home today.' Because I don't want to expose my children, you know, and so when my partner tested positive at work, you think twice about wanting to come home," Diana Vera said.
But the time she does have with her family is something she now appreciates more than ever.
“You just want to come home to your safe place to your family and just decompress, watch TV with them, you know, sit and have a cup of coffee or tea with them," said Diana Vera.
And with so much uncertainty in the world, the Vera family knows they can depend on each other.
“That's just how we were raised like our core was our family," said Josephine Vera. "We're always there to help each other out. And that's just always how it's been.”
The Link LonkSeptember 02, 2020 at 05:28PM
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