The main problem with wearing a mask at work, she says, is that it’s harder to catch people’s eyes when you ask how they’re doing. “I want to look eye to eye and ask, ‘How are you feeling, how’s your day been, how’s your morning?’ — something like that,” says Maria. She normally works as a catering coordinator, but she’s been covering several different roles so she can keep getting her hours.
“It’s good that I can get my hours because I have to pay my bills,” she says. “I just ask my boss and other people, ‘Do you need help?’ It’s also good because I’m learning and staying safe.”
Maria has a reputation for being friendly with all her customers at work. Is it harder to do that during the pandemic? “No, not really,” she says. “People are worried, but people laugh more too. I just ask different things: ‘Are you going on vacation? No, wait, you can’t do that! Well, what are you doing at home?’ They say, ‘I’m organizing my closets’ or ‘I’m cooking’ or ‘I’m making cakes.’ It’s mom’s conversation.”
Maria knows how moms talk. She has three sons, ages 16, 10, and 8. “It’s hard that they don’t have school,” she says. “At home I’m cleaning, cooking, and checking on their homework. I’m asking, ‘Hey Google,’ a lot, especially with math. It’s stressful but it’s okay.”
She worries about her friends and colleagues. She knows everyone’s concerned about their health and their jobs. “You have to keep up your attitude everyday so you can make yourself happy,” Maria says. “You have life and you’re healthy. I’m praying for my kids and for everyone. I say, ‘Thank you, God, for making me healthy. Thank you for life.’ My attitude is like that all the time. Everyone has problems. You make a happy face and continue on.”
Blair Kent, Intermountain Medical Center’s administrator, says, “I think Maria epitomizes a good attitude. Life is hard these days; there’s more to do and more to worry about. But Maria keeps focusing on the people around her and her attitude keeps sparkling. I think she’s a role model of how to cope.”