May 27, 2021
Interview Three: Cynthia Hrubes
The third interview I conducted was done with my Mother, Cynthia Hrubes. She currently is a credentialist, yet during the time of the pandemic, her main worry was for her family. This interview was done to get a better insight into how Covid had affected the mental state of a mother, who as a parent had to look out for herself as well as her children.
Christian: Okay. So I am here with my mother and looking into how a mother’s mental state as a parent was affected during the pandemic when worrying about herself and her children. So mom, if you’re ready, um, how did the lockdown affect your mental state at first? Was there any anxiety or nervousness that came about when thinking about how you’re going to take care of your home and family while it was extremely difficult to go out into public?
Mom: Yes. There was a lot of anxiety that I felt a lot of nervousness. Um, many nights that I couldn’t sleep, where I woke up worrying about what was going on in the world, worrying about my children, um, very scary time, and I’m still a little frightened by everything. And I still can’t believe everything that just happened within the past year.
C:Now was any of this anxiety or nervousness caused by any potential underlying health conditions that you may have? And if there are any underlying health conditions that you have, have they changed the way that you conducted your basic everyday life?
M:Um, I’m an insulin dependent, diabetic. So having that as a health condition scared me tremendously, as they said that many insulin dependent diabetics, or more likely to get COVID. Um, I was very precautionary, um, washing groceries when they came back into the house, wiping down things. When they came into the house wearing gloves. When I went out, always wearing a mask, when I went out, um, wiping down door knobs as well.
C:Now, I know you mentioned how you were washing down groceries and wiping everything down, but were there any other ways that you changed your lifestyle to be more safe from the virus? As there are some people who entirely avoided going to grocery stores and they Ubered to everything, to their homes and had everything delivered. Did you do any of these practices as well?
M:No. I chose not to do those practices. We were just very, um, precautionary when at the times when we felt there would be less people in the stores, but we felt that we needed to be the ones going to the stores to get the groceries.
C:When it was first a suggestion, did you start to wear the masks or did you wait until it was a requirement?
M:No, I worked as soon as we were suggested to wear the masks. And as a matter of fact, at this point in time, I’m dully vaccinated at this point. And at my job, it is not a requirement to wear a mask if you are duly vaccinated, and I am still choosing to wear a mask.
C:Now, how do you feel about guests coming into your home and during the height of the pandemic, are you open to the idea or you do prefer a more isolated life at the moment?
M:During the pandemic, we had a small of close family members and friends that we stayed in contact with. And that’s pretty much the same small bubble that we’re still interacting with at this point in time, even after vaccinations, um, things will open up a little bit more now that things are getting easier in the state, but throughout the height of the pandemic, we stayed within that small bubble, if no one, um, visiting at some point in time as well.
C:You mentioned staying in the bubble, but how did you feel about your children going out with friends hanging out in public considering that the pandemic is still here? Are you open to giving them the essential freedom in a time like this? Or would you prefer that they try and stay safer?
M:Um, due to the fact that my son was working, um, in the supermarket, it was necessary for him to be out in public, and socializing with small group of friends as well. And my daughter also, I was comfortable with her socializing with a small group of friends as well.
C: Alrighty. Thank you for your time Mom!
