Shawna L’Italien: Working, Being Creative, Trusting in God
Shawna L’Italien, a lawyer with Harrington, Hoppe & Mitchell in Salem, is hanging tough. You can read more about Shawna at her bio on the HHM website.
What are some ways the COVID-19 outbreak has changed your work life?
I’m working mostly from home and communicating more by phone and email with clients who I’d normally meet in person. I’m learning how to use Zoom to have meetings where we can still see each other to answer questions and more closely mirror prior in-person meetings. It’s made document signing much more challenging but we are working our way through solutions. For some projects, we are waiting for a bit to finalize. I’ve always felt I am very productive when I work at home so I don’t feel any less productive at all working from home. In general, I’m doing all I can to still take care of my clients’ ongoing needs and make them feel comfortable in the format and services they are still getting.
How about your personal life?
I’m definitely at home more! I work later into the evenings now since I’m working at home and there isn’t as much of a stop point to head home. It isn’t rare for me to not have a single weeknight home due to meetings, events and other personal commitments. My husband and I normally are traveling every weekend and many week night evenings to see our grandchildren and nieces participate in sporting events that aren’t occurring now. We are very close to our families and miss that regular person-to-person contact with them. We use FaceTime and Duo a lot to keep in touch with family members. We miss the hugs from the kids so much. We plan to attempt a Yahtzee game by FaceTime or Zoom in the near future.
What steps are you taking to hang tough?
I am trying to force some downtime at home even though it has become my daily work place, too. I’m trying to create windows of time to still disconnect. We are taking walks to get out of the house and shooting hoops in the driveway. We are communicating by phone and video with the family members we miss so much. We are watching our church services that we miss so much on video. I’m fortunate that I really like my husband because we haven’t spent this much constant time together at home in our entire almost 14-year marriage. I’m watching a lot of news and reading articles to stay on top of the status and issues but also trying to disconnect and give my brain a break. It is all so overwhelming and scary when you really think about the lives that could be lost and the effect on so many people financially. The fear can easily overtake your thoughts. Breaks from the reality by reading, playing games or watching movies are helpful for sanity.
What advice are you sharing with the people you love?
My main advice has been to just stay home as much as you possibly can and take all of the precautions recommended by the health professionals. We can still talk and support each other through the phone and videos. We will get through this crisis. Take spare time as a result of this crisis to reconnect and rest. I think crafts and creativity are a great way to help push through this and many of my family members have done just that. My sister is amazingly talented and she’s working on a lot of crafts and wood products. Our granddaughter Allyson made an awesome house out of boxes and blankets. She takes us on regular tours through FaceTime of their house to visit her parents and siblings, Bryce and Carmella. Her house even has lights strung up inside! My daughter, Ashley, and grandson Jaxtyn (22 months) have been doing many crafts at home and they send us videos and pictures.
My nieces, Kendall and Lily, and nephew, Nolan, are making cards for my 91-year-old mother-in-law, Betty, who lives alone as well as many others that are in need of a smile. Being creative and helping others in need can be of benefit to us all. My final and probably most important advice would be to trust in God. It is so easy to be overtaken by fear right now. We have the opportunity each day to decide how we are going to handle the craziness around us. We should choose trust in God over fear each and every day.