My son, Omeer was born on January 20, 2020, just before the fear of the outbreak overtook our nation.  Two months later life became pretty unusual. We began to be consumed by the news, mesmerized by the number of deaths occurring. A month after my son was born, his appointments were lined up with his pediatrician. Then things got eerily different when their office called and told us that all his remaining appointments would be cancelled until further notice.

So here we are, new parents, new virus, no vaccinations. What do we do?

The day after Omeer’s appointment schools were closed indefinitely. So, all plans for staying home with the baby in solidity now became a whirlwind of virtual homeschooling and technology troubleshooting. New baby, new learning, new frustrations were not what I anticipated my first few months as a mother would be. But soon, our hurricane became a tropical storm as we all learned how to navigate from Zoom to Nearpod to Study Weekly to Khan Academy.  And with a very abrupt end to our school year, just like that a tropical depression.

The beautiful thing about after the storm is that we get to see the beauty and bounty of mother nature. My new son had the opportunity to see and interact with dad and siblings all day long.  My older children were able to see their younger brother develop new milestones each day.  And we have all settled in this “no touch, no hug, no embrace, elbow-pump” world that will be the only ‘way’ Omeer is familiar with.