My husband was forced to return to the office. Life got harder and more expensive when all of the parenting duties fell to me.

• When Marquita Wright and her husband were working from home, they split childcare duties.
• He had to return to the office full time. Now Wright takes care of their twin sons' transportation.
• They use babysitters to help free up some time, but it costs them about $200 a week.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Marquita Wright, a 39-year-old business-development manager and travel blogger in New Orleans. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I work in business development for a conveyor manufacturer, and my husband, Jaime, is a civil engineer for the federal government. I've been working from home full time since the start of the pandemic.