COVID-19 has impacted me in both positive and negative ways, however, I’ve tried to see it all as an experience to learn and grow from. My husband was furloughed because of the pandemic and it was difficult on us financially. We worried about how we would get by each month, and then we found out that we were pregnant and that made figuring out our finances that much more stressful. However, we were absolutely thrilled when we found out we were pregnant!

My husband was furloughed for over 6 months and has just recently gone back to work. One of the most frustrating parts of this whole pandemic was that while he was furloughed he applied to over 300 jobs and heard back from only a handful of them. No one was hiring and that made us even more worried about finances. We are very grateful that he is back at work now.

With all the worry that came from COVID-19, there was also a lot of peace and joy that came with it. With my husband furloughed, we got to spend more time together than we ever have before. We also got to visit with family and friends in ways that we never would have before. We checked in on people more often and they did the same with us. We wrote letters to our nephews and niece, and video chatted with friends that we hadn’t seen in a long time. We also had time to work on projects around the house, play games, go for walks, and just slow down altogether. It was nice!

So although this last year has been hard and challenging, it has also been filled with happiness, laughter, and growth.