Welcome! It’s a new blog in a new world.

I haven’t blogged about my personal life since 2017. That’s a long time and frankly, it has been one helluva year. Am I right? Okay, I admit that when I speak to some friends in my social circle, while it’s been traumatic and tragic for so many throughout our country and community, they are thankful for this year. They have found the silver linings - working at home in comfortable clothing (you know that nice top and sweatpants look?), zoom meetings instead of commutes, quality time with the kids to play and learn, access to working out in the comfort of home, brushing up on cooking skills, and saving money on child care and the salon.

Personally, I’ve experienced some of these silver linings in this unprecedented year, but I can’t seem to shake how this pandemic impacted our family or stop my brain from spinning with all the what-ifs and what-nexts.

In February 2020, for President’s Week (and school’s mid-Winter Recess) my husband and I took our two kids to Disney World. We’d been waiting years to go and the time had finally come. At age 6, my daughter was mature enough to appreciate all of the rides and could handle an ambitious itinerary, and my son, age 2.5, still napped in a stroller like a champ. So off we went with our overpacked suitcases on what we knew would be a marathon of a vacation, but hey, we were ready to visit “the happiest place on earth” and couldn’t wait to see the joy on the kid’s faces. Little did we know, this would be the last time we’d see and experience life this way. Some cases of the novel coronavirus had been mentioned in the media but it wasn’t a big concern in the United States, just yet.

By the time we returned from our trip and I was back in the office coming down from cloud 9, my team began developing marketing materials on how to safeguard the health of our members and staff. I work as the Marketing & Communications Director at the YMCA of Long Island and it’s my responsibility to message with full transparency to our audience. What my team and I developed as precautionary materials quickly turned into emergency planning with our leadership team following the CDC declaration of a global pandemic, and then on March 16, 2020, came the government-mandated shutdown of our Y branches. My children’s schools were also closed and reverted to remote learning. “It’s fine”, we told ourselves. A few weeks and we’ll be back to normal once the COVID-19 virus gets under control. Then, everything went to hell in a handbasket.

Terrified about contracting this unknown virus, stockpiling groceries and PPE, remote learning with a first grader and preschooler, and working from home juggling a 12+ hour workday, brought on enough stress and exhaustion for a lifetime. But you’ve already heard this story a million times from parents across the country.

Fast forward to summer and fall. We’re living life in our new normal with our kids riding bikes and swimming, back in school learning with peers, and we’re putting on business clothes again (okay, not so great) but collectively we’re all getting used to wearing masks, moisturizing our raw skin from constant handwashing, and social distancing as best as we can. Once talk about the vaccine distribution rolled out in December 2020, hope had arrived and our spirits were lifted.

Not so fast there, lady!

Now, I’m working in and out of the office between our 256,738th quarantine and school recesses. It’s been almost a full year living through this crisis and we just need to get our vaccine appointments scheduled so we can start to feel some freedom again. President’s Week arrives and I feel guilty having to work from home unable to entertain the kids. How do I compete with Disney from last year?! This is when I get a little too comfortable and drop the kids at our local gymnastics place to get in some physical activity and I can work in peace.

Winter Recess 2020: Disney World Family Vacation

Winter Recess 2021: COVID-19 Visits our Home

What a difference a year makes. It’s been one month since our family was struck with COVID-19. Luckily, my daughter and I had mild cases and were able to somewhat function within a week. My son somehow tested negative and continued acting like a typical 3-year old boy (or equivalent to a cute monster!). My husband was hit the hardest and was down for the count for more than two weeks. I get emotional thinking about how much worse it could have been; how many families we know that were deeply affected, living with lingering health issues, stacks of medical bills, and even devastating loss.

I count my blessings.

We survived. We have our jobs. Our kids are in school. Our families are healthy. I’ve learned for now that I am okay with good instead of great. I’ve learned new skills that have opened my eyes to what the future could hold. I can now say with complete confidence - if you want something done, give it to the busy, productive person. Yup, that’s me with my hand up. I also wish I had a crystal ball to tell us how will life be different now in a post-pandemic world. It’s deja vu thinking back to post-9/11 days when security would forever dictate travel. Will the way we do business ever go back to the way it was? Will we wear masks when the weather gets cold to prevent illness? I wonder.

Today is the first day since that dreary winter day when we contracted COVID that both of my kids are back in school. So, I decided to quietly reflect and blog our story. A new blog in a new world and I am damn near excited about it.

I hope you enjoy THE LIFE UNFOLDED.