(CNN)Writing this was hard.
Practically speaking, I'm feeling overwhelmed. I am behind on work because we kept my runny-nosed but otherwise seemingly fine, toddler home from school for a few days to not worry his teachers.
My online shopping cart has been subject to a large number of orders and revisions. Do we need more toilet paper? Canned tuna? How much is prudent? How much is hoarding or even ethical?
I, too, have taken a deep dive into the world of hand sanitizer on the internet. I still remain empty-handed. Then there's the extra laundry, the extra food prep and the firm commitment to making sure everyone gets to sleep on time to keep their immune systems in high gear.
All this, and the question we've all asked so many times that we can barely recognize the words anymore: Did you wash your hands? Did you wash your hands? Did you wash your hands?
Emotionally, I'm unmoored. I worry about my friends and family getting Covid-19. I worry about schools shutting down. I worry about schools not shutting down.
Like many moms, I am the one in my marriage with a flexible job, which means that all scheduling upheavals are mine to manage and that I don't get paid sick days.
On top of this, I spent two full work days reading everything I could find about the virus —research for this article. Like many, I went from cautious to nervous to panicked at a breakneck speed. The more you know. I saw harrowing photos of Italian hospitals. I read charts illustrating America's unpreparedness. Tom Hanks. The NBA.
This is parenthood in the time of the coronavirus.
It's demanding, emotional -- and to think I felt overwhelmed last month. For me and many others, managing the threat of the virus is adding a new and significant dose of domestic and emotional labor to our lives. If you are the mom in the family, odds are that most of this labor is falling in your lap.
Managing the feelings and anxiety
The act of parenting, or parenting well at least, requires some baseline anxiety.
"Part of becoming a parent is about becoming hypervigilant to potential threats. You become a threat detection machine," said Darby Saxbe, associate professor of psychology and director of the Center for the Changing Family at the University of Southern California.
What makes coronavirus anxiety so much worse than will-my-toddler-run-into-traffic anxiety is its potential for disruption of our daily routines combined with a deeper uncertainty about how it will play out.
How long will our kids be out of school? How will we get our work done? And this goes for parents with paid employment, as well as those who stay home. Managing kids and a house is work.
