Sharmistha and sons, Reyansh and Hrishan.
This article was written by Kate Stringer for the UW Graduate School in an article entitled…
LATE NIGHTS, HUGS, HERCULEAN PATIENCE: GRADUATE STUDENT PARENTS SHARE LIFE DURING QUARANTINE. You can read the original story in its entirety here.
It’s not uncommon for Sharmistha Ganguly Ghosh to find herself completing class assignments in the middle of the night with one of her kids sitting on her lap.
Sharmistha, who is earning a Master of Science in Business Analytics, has two boys, Hrishan, who is one year and seven months, and Reyansh, who is four.
Since being home, Sharmistha describes her average day as feeling like a tennis ball bouncing between household chores, studying, nursing her youngest, calls with a client, playing Legos with her children, and back to studying. Sharmistha uses a chart to help manage what she needs to get done and what her deadlines are. She said she can’t ever procrastinate if she wants to keep up with the 14 credits she’s taking in her final quarter.
But Sharmistha is good at keeping a positive attitude. She said her supportive husband and family make it easier to handle, and she feels like these challenges will help her become stronger and better at balancing competing priorities.
Sharmistha and Hrishan.
“Due to this extremely difficult situation, stress is imminent. But we need to keep our cool, and this too shall pass,” she said.
She tries to hold a lot of empathy and patience for her children as well. She reminds herself that because her sons are at home more, they aren’t able to release their energy playing in the neighborhood like they used to, and are more prone to misbehaving. Sharmistha said this requires a lot more love and understanding on her part as a parent, but she also sees her children reflecting that kindness back to her.
“Every struggle comes with its own share of happiness,” Sharmistha said. “At the end of the day, when I sit back on my couch and my kids run up to me to offer coffee from their toy coffee machine, spreading their arms around me saying, ‘Mumma, have some coffee and relax, you seem tired,’ it’s the biggest happiness a mom can get, seeing her kids being compassionate and loving.”
