In the Time of Coronavirus: Finding Inspiration from My Mother Who Survived the Recession

My mother navigated the Great Recession without a tear on her face. I was still in high school then, and at the time, she was a caregiver who only worked four days a week and who spent the remaining three days searching for another job. We were not built to survive that financial crisis, but somehow we did, and to this day I am still astonished at how my single mother did it all by herself. 

When the officials in Orange County, California banned all public and private gatherings on March 17 as a precaution against the novel coronavirus, the tutoring center where I’ve been working for the past three years had no choice but to temporarily close its doors. A week before the county decision, several schools and universities in California had already shut down and moved all academic sessions online. Those of us at the center knew many of our students would need more assistance now that they are forced to learn remotely, so we initially planned to continue all learning activities for as long as we could. But when the ban immediately followed, many of us—both students and staff—were suddenly left without permanent solutions.

As I watched my students work on their assignments during our remaining working hours, I couldn’t help but think about my mother. My mother belongs to the group considered to be one of the most vulnerable to the virus: A 65-year-old woman who is immunocompromised as a result of asthma. I thought about her because I was worried for her, but at the same time, I also thought about her for the many times she came home during the 2008 recession with nothing but grace and assurance. Even when I had suspected she was struggling, there was always a kind of certainty on her face that never made me fearful of the days ahead.

I didn’t inherit my mother’s positive outlook, and I wish I did. Unlike her, I am afraid of the days ahead. I am afraid for my students who come to the center because they don’t have access to a computer at home, for the students who learn best in person, and for the students whose parents cannot afford to miss work for an uncertain period of time. With many economists forecasting that the U.S. economy is now in a period of decline, the unemployment rate will only continue to rise in the coming days and many businesses will likely stay closed for good. And our tutoring center is at risk for being one of them.

A second after I had told my students that the center would postpone all academic activities beginning the following day, one of my students asked when the center would open again. “April,” I said. Another student asked for a specific date, but the truth is, I don’t know when we would open again, or if we would open again. California Governor Gavin Newsom says that April is still too soon for the state to resume its day-to-day tasks, and since many California schools are now closed for the remainder of the school year, all I know now is that the longer our center is closed, the less likely we will ever come back. 

After the students and the tutors left, I stayed at the center by myself waiting for my Uber ride home. Our center is right across a Korean barbecue restaurant crowded by customers at night. But that Tuesday night, there were no crowds; there were no cars parked in front of the restaurant, and the restaurant was just as empty as the center where I began as an English tutor and later became its coordinator. 

While I waited, I called my mother, who now lived away from me, to let her know that the center had, for the time being, shut down. I then proceeded to ask her about the recession and if there were ever any moments then where she thought she wouldn’t be able to make it. “No,” was the only thing she said, as surely and as calmly as I had expected from her. I thought about telling her how afraid I am, how afraid I am that I wouldn’t be able to guarantee our survival the way she guaranteed mine. But I held back, and instead, I said to her as firmly as I could, “Make sure you stay inside.”

Before I left the center, I printed a press statement I had written an hour earlier regarding our center’s canceled activities. My Uber was only a minute away, so on my way out, I posted the statement on the front door, if only to remind the students that we’ll see them again soon. 

I don’t know when, but I’m certain that we will.

Are you also finding inspiration and strength from your parents as you navigate the current situation? Share your story in the comments section below.

Rae L. is a writer and educator from Los Angeles, CA. She earned a B.A. in journalism and English literature from Cal State Long Beach before attending Loyola Marymount University for her master’s studies. Currently, she is a center coordinator for a private tutoring company in Orange County, CA.