The diary of a day during the COVID-19 pandemic

Strong morning sunrays woke me up while I still need some sleep…

Yes, I do need more sleep even though the whole world is having enough rest. But my body has never rested – were there a pandemic or not, whether we were quarantined or not.

Since, being a woman, I should wake up early in the morning, and wash my face with cold water in order to feel fresh during the whole day, since I know a lot of work is waiting for me…

 Due to the fact that I am a woman, I should initially start by cleaning the clothes that all my family threw on the ground since people feel lazier when they have enough time to rest, not only during a pandemic. As a mother, I have children to take care of: clean them, dress them, comb their hair, and sometimes all that keeps me going is their small hands that surround my face and ask me “mom, why do your hands never rest”?!

My husband is a lazy man so I have to cook breakfast for him since “meetings in distance” are beginning early in the morning and I can’t leave him hungry even now that he’s attending meetings from home. While he was working in the office, I always took care of him and ironed his T-shirts, and made sure his tie is worn as it should because I am that kind of woman that does not let her husband go to work without ironing his clothes. And when I’ve taken care of everyone, I start cleaning and vacuuming the rooms and everything that would bring the virus closer since I am a mother and a woman that does not want to leave dust traces in the house…

While I only make sure to clean and encourage myself to give everything from me, in order for my children, my husband, and the house we live in to be clean as it always was even before the pandemic.

People usually tend not to undervalue what women do, but when we faced tis pandemic everyone understood who should really be valued for housekeeping and the hygiene of children, our spouses and everything that surrounds us in the environment that we live.

I do not work so that people will congratulate me on the job I’ve done, but because we’re not doing a whatever job – it deserves at least a thanks, especially now that to a certain extent we have been a “protective measure” towards this pandemic by being stronger than every other day. 

We did not do anything extraordinary but we gave our best for our house and family during the pandemic and before it.

I also want to thank myself for the patience and the motif to take care of everything during this period.

 This article was written by Diellëza Krasniqi  within the project “Men and Boys as Partners in Promoting Gender Equality and the Prevention of Youth Extremism and Violence in the Balkans”, implemented by CARE International Balkans in partnership with SIT – Center for Counseling, Social Services and Research and YMCA in Kosovo and supported by Austrian Development Agency, and Oak Foundation.

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