Through their viral #MomTruths videos, Toronto moms Cat and Nat tackle motherhood with wit and wisdom. Find them at catandnat.ca.
COVID-19 is not taking into consideration the unorganized mom.
We are the kind of people who lose our credit cards, bank cards and purses (shoes, too!), on a regular basis. And now COVID has added a couple of items to our lists that are mandatory.
Let’s start with masks. Now we are not debating the importance of masks. We know masks are important. In fact, we have been wearing masks for months now. So how is it that we still go all the way to the coffee shop, just to arrive there and realize that we can’t walk in because we forgot to bring a mask!
Masks are like the new hair elastic. You can buy 500,000 of them, but when you need one, you won’t be able to find one.
Then there are all the new school rules. So let’s say if — off the cuff — we totally forget that our kid had a doctor’s appointment, and we get a call from the doctor, so we have to run to the school.
Try and find your kid! First of all, try to get in the school to find your kid, and then try to get them out the door. I hope that my kindergartner knows how to figure out that I’m waiting somewhere for them!
You know what another one is? The forms!
The school form to make sure that your child does not exhibit any of the symptoms listed on the form.
We were great for the first few days. For a solid five days, we were on it. We filled out the form, it’s all online — no problem.
Then I get the call from my son: “You didn’t fill it out. They’re not letting me in school.”
Followed by the message from the school: “Excuse me Ms. Telfer. It looks like you haven’t filled out the COVID form; therefore, your child will not be admitted into school.”
Oh my God. I have four kids, that’s four forms. It’s a bit much!
We should just get stamps that say, “I’m COVID free” and stamp it on their forehead.
Isn’t it sort of like an agreement that we as parents have with the school? If your kid is not feeling well, don’t send them to school. So hence there would be no form. Let’s trust each other here.
And the people who are going to lie, are going to lie anyway. They’re going to sign the form with false information, and they’re going to send their kid to school.
Then there is all the labelling. Everything has to be labelled, because you can’t cross-contaminate.
Let’s just say Becky and Betty have the same kind of water cup. Without a label, it comes home. I can barely find a water bottle for my kid, and now I’m labelling everything? So let’s say the label goes missing. Now you don’t have a label. So you go back inside the house, and you get the label. Now that you have the label, you forgot your mask. You go back inside, then somehow you end up forgetting both your label and your mask!
Pre-COVID, not labelling all your kid’s stuff just meant you were going to lose it. Now it means you can’t get it. If a kid does not have a water bottle during the day — because you cannot use the water fountain — you are basically abusing your child, because water is pertinent to rehydrating. Even though I never had a water bottle growing up! So now let’s say my kid finished their water bottle. Can they refill it? Nooo!
Here’s where it gets really tricky, let’s put 32 kids in a classroom, but no more than 10 people in a house.
Some people can fly on a plane, but God forbid you have more than 10 people in a room. Let’s pack 300 into an aluminum vessel, but 10 people over for dinner? No.
Basically, what we’re saying is, if you’re having a very hard time keeping up with the rules and regulations as a mom during COVID, you’re not alone!
Jeremy Diamond is a lawyer and member of both Ontario and Florida Bars. Jeremy practices in the area of Plaintiff personal injury litigation. Learn more about 
