Pink Dandelion Quarterly_Fall 2020

Wattpad Moms: Column

By Brittney Dennis

Hello there. My name's Britt. I'm a mom. I'm also a fellow Wattpadder. I enjoy reading, writing, and wondering about the personal life behind the other Wattpadders' profiles. Why don't I let you in on a little of mine? This is after all, a branch of Chick Lit, where the story is centered around a woman and her life.

First off, motherhood is a big part of being a mom, but it is by far not the only thing. I'm glad to have stumbled across Wattpad, and thankful for the opportunities, and the friends I have made. It's like a whole virtual adventure that is waiting to unfold.

But like everything else, I'm not just a writer. I'm a wife, a mom, in the middle of a pandemic, in one of the worst years known in history. (Cross my fingers it doesn't get worse!)

I'm a mother that made the choice to be a learning coach during virtual sessions. It's not something completely new to me. We've done this before. We may do this again, pandemic or not, but I do not wish to send my kids back to school until after things have calmed down again. I hear things all the time about schools getting shut down, and then reopening, and then getting shut down again. In my area, we even had a Corona Virus outbreak before school even started. (Sports program.)

This year, it's my thirteen-year-old son, my eleven-year-old daughter, my eight-year-old daughter, and my two nieces as well, fourteen and eleven. They come here every week day at 6:30 in the morning while their parents go to work. 

It's a lot easier for us this time around. My children are all older now, and they are showing a lot more promise by sitting down and committing to get things done rather than take several breaks a day and making the day go on. My son, I noticed, is also getting more independent and doing a lot of his reading on his own. I find myself sitting nearby, sewing face masks, as I observe their progress.

We've developed a habit,I am ashamed to admit, of using plastic to avoid washing the dishes as it saves us more time to get our assignments done. Something I have noticed, you can save your time, or your money, or your resources, but I've yet to find a lifestyle that does all three. It's like you have to pick the lesser of the evils for the moment.

At the time this article is written, August 29, 2020, Laura has made a visit to my state. Hurricanes don't really do much damage in northern Arkansas, though in the south parts, the rain smells like fish. This was the first hurricane I recall on the news, that could come with "blustery winds." I have a couple of friends named "Laura." One in particular, a very free spirited woman. I loved to tease her about it. "Raising a bit of Cain, are you Laura?" 

"I am so tired of hearing my name! What the heck happened to Marco? How come nobody is talking about him! Did it evaporate?"

"Now Laura, if you had to make a bet on what hurricane would cause the biggest uproar with the name 'Laura,' or 'Marco,' which one would you put your money on?"

Even her boyfriend chimed in "I would put my money on Laura too!"

Meanwhile, my state is also having what is known as "change of weather" weather. I don't know if it's worse this year, or if this stressful year is only making it feel worse, but this coming of fall is having a lot of thunderstorms and winds that could turn into a tornado at anytime. Laura's was a gentle visit when she came by my place. Not even a twig was blown out of place by the wind, though the kids enjoyed staying up late under a fort just in case things got scary. I was lucky though. A town nearby, had two "touch downs." And our elementary school? Who would have thought that something other than Corona would have kept the rest of the kids from coming back. Even without the tornado, the speedy winds did some serious damage, and the school library is in need of repairs.