This Mother's Day frontline workers fight it out, say nation comes first

By Shagun Taank
New Delhi [India], May 8 : This Mother's Day will be a special one for many families who are spending more time together these days due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown.
However, in a world in the throes of a pandemic, there are hundreds of mothers out there who are healthcare professionals or first responders who would have to wait probably until next year to celebrate the day with their children.
With many of them choosing to stay away from families, or sealing off sections of their houses so as not to expose their loved ones to the threat of the virus, even a hug would be an impossibility.
ANI spoke to a few such COVID-warriors who have been battling it out on the professional front and have also been trying to keep their families safe in these trying times.
Sharing her experience as a mother and a first responder, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of North-West Delhi, Vijayanta Arya, who is a mother to two sons, both below the age of 10, said: "Given the extraordinary nature of my job, I never get to spend a lot of time with my children. But now I feel I spend far less time with them than ever before."
"Following the sanitization protocols and health advisory, I have distanced myself from my children in a way that bothers a mother emotionally but at the same time the need of the hour is to serve the nation when it needs us the most" she added.
Speaking further about how the COVID-19 has changed the dynamics of her relationship with her children, the officer said, "On a normal day at whatever time I would get back home, they would just rush to me and I would be waiting for that warm enthusiastic hug full of love as a mother."
"But now the first thing that happens when I go home is either I try to sneak in secretly so they don't get to know or if they do get to know they are the ones who are running towards me and I am running away from them," she adds.
As the country deals with the pandemic, the police officer feels that it is the time for all mothers to not just be responsible mothers but be responsible citizens as well and understand their responsibility towards the nation.
"I think that given the scenario around us it is incumbent on all the mothers to be not just responsible mothers but also responsible citizens and teach children to be responsible citizens too and do their bit for the nation," she adds.
Besides police officials, others that are the most exposed to the threat of contracting the highly contagious virus are the healthcare workers.
Neha Singh who is a healthcare worker at the Delhi Jal Board Dispensary has a 2.5-year-old toddler waiting for her at home when she goes to work.
"Sometimes I feel like if I wasn't in the medical line then I could have stayed more with my child but the first day I started my corona duty I felt delighted. I felt that I have an opportunity to do something for the nation," says Neha.
"I was truly feeling like a warrior. I feel like we are all fighting and instead of guns we are all holding stethoscopes, pens, and other medical equipment," she adds.
Sharing about the struggles that she faces as a mother while working during the pandemic scenario, Neha says, "When we are on duty, it feels like we have to serve the patients. My family, my home everything is out of the mind then. But when I am home, I am a mother and I realise that I have been in contact with affected people, so I take precautions."
"When I return home and my daughter sees me at the door she gets excited and wants to run to me for a hug and I am the one who is pulling away and asking her to stay away. I don't feel good doing this to my child," she adds.
While it is true that the pandemic is distancing mother frontline workers from their children, it has also been a matter of pride to the children of COVID warriors.
Speaking about her eleven-year-old son's opinion about her long working hours as a nurse in the Lady Hardinge Hospital, Nanda Temburne says, "He is very proud of me as I am working at this crucial time when everybody else is staying at their homes."
"Every time frontline workers get lauded my son feels very proud," she adds.
When asked if she feels that she is missing out on family time unlike many others, Temburne says that her main focus at this time is to treat as many patients as possible keeping everything else aside.
While these feisty mothers have taken it upon themselves to stand for the nation and nurture it with their care, it is incumbent on all the others to honour these frontline warriors who are giving it all to the society.