What WhatsApp Moms and Amish Men Have in Common
Israeli kids ages 6 and under were finally allowed to return to gan/daycare today after a month of lockdown. I felt so happy and relieved to see Yoni this morning sitting again among the circle of boys around his teacher, playing a game to relearn each others’ long-forgotten names.
Which caused my mind to float back to that first zoom meeting Yoni’s teacher set up a month ago, at the beginning of this lockdown. Or, more exactly, the Whatsapp discussion among the mothers that took place during that zoom meeting. Here’s how it went down:
Teacher: Reminder: The zoom meeting will be starting in 10 minutes
Me: Did it start? We can’t get in
Mother 2: Yes, it started
Mother 3: We’re waiting to be let in
Mother 4: Is anybody still waiting to be let in? Should I tell the teacher?
Mother 3: The zoom stopped all of a sudden
Mother 5: What happened?
Mother 6: Time ran out. Log in again. The teacher will have to let you in
Mother 7: We also got cut off
Teacher: Letting everyone in now
Mother 8: It got cut off. Not able to get in again
Mother 9: Go in again?
Mother 6: Yes
Mother 4: It says we need to wait for the meeting to start
Mother 4: Did the zoom meeting start?
Me: You can go in again
Mother 6: Yes, they started again at the same link
Mother 4: We got in:)
Mother 9: Is the zoom over?
Teacher: Yes
Ever since terms such as COVID 19, herd immunity, and flattening the curve entered my vocabulary last spring, Whatsapp conversations like this one have become a fixed feature of my life as well. On one hand, these constant Whatsapp interactions between mothers makes me want to scream.
But on the other hand, there’s something sort of amazing about them as well. All these frantic motherly whatsapps make this year feel kind of like a barn raising. But instead of Amish men raising a barn, we’re Jewish moms coming together to raise, from the ashes of a worldwide pandemic, a school year for our beloved children.
An analogy I never would have thought of on my own but somehow spoke to my core. Thank you for your insights that you share with us.
All the best!!
it came like lightning, out of nowhere. I also feel it’s true to my core