It’s been well over a year since we all first heard of COVID-19. It’s been a bit over a year of quarantining/self-isolating/social-distancing. And late last week, Nathan and I were lucky enough to get our first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. I finally went to bed for the first time in over a year breathing a little easier. Knowing that we were on the path to not having to live in fear and anxiety of this virus.

This past year was truly unbelievable. If I hadn’t lived it, it would be hard to believe. As this chapter feels like it’s coming to an end, I wanted to chronicle here formally what this past year held for us as we navigated really hard decisions for our family, missed holidays and birthdays, bringing a new little boy into this world, and doing every day life so much different than we had ever done it before.

March 12, 2020: My work team packed up all of our work items, and left our client’s site for the last time. It would be the last time that we would be back on site with our client. This is the first weekend that we “social distance” as a family, but we still send Harrison to daycare the next week as we come to the realization that it may be better to have him home with us later that week.

March 20, 2020: Harrison stays home with me on my flex Friday from work. He breaks his leg in the afternoon, and we decide to not send him back to daycare given all of the unknowns of the virus: how it spreads, how long it stays on surfaces, how it affects kids and adults, etc.

March – early April: Nathan and I juggle working from home with an almost 2 year old at home. We work in shifts. I get up early before the rest of the house to work out in our living room, doing my beloved Bar Method workout over recordings at home for the first time using spaghetti jars as weights, and towels as mats. I work some before the house gets up, then Nathan takes first shift with Harrison. At 10:00, we switch and I take over with Harrison. My Harrison “shift” ends at 12:30 after lunch, when he goes down for nap. We both work until 3:00 when he wakes up, and then it’s a balance of who has less calls/meetings and can hang with Harrison until the other finishes up work. Most nights, we both get back on to work after he goes down for bed to make up for the lost time.

We’re thankful that it’s springtime and the weather is getting better, so that Harrison can play outside and go on walks, but the days feel so very long and cumbersome trying to juggle it all.

Early April 2020: We hire Nathan’s younger sister, Ashton, to start coming over in the mornings to watch Harrison, so Nathan and I can both get in a solid morning of work. This turns out to be such a huge blessing to have an outside person come to provide a new distraction from us, and it’s our only real connection with either of our family’s for the time being.

April 13, 2020: We celebrate our first quarantine birthday. Harrison’s second birthday. He wears his favorite Dino sweatshirt, a Zoom birthday party with his family, and cupcakes for dessert. He’s thrilled. Mostly about the cupcakes.

Memorial Day 2020: Parks are closed. The city pool, a favorite activity of ours, announces that it will not open for the season. We are still wiping down groceries when they are delivered, and we do not leave the house except by absolute necessity. No haircuts, no playgrounds, all indoor “kid friendly” activities are closed indefinitely.

However, we know more about the virus. That kids do not seem to be as impacted by COVID as adults, that masks help slow the spread of the virus. Nathan and I make the very hard decision to send Harrison back to school after the holiday to offer him some sense of stability before our very long quarantine in preparation for Jonathan’s birth and his first few months of life.

June 2020: We make the most of our one month of slightly less extreme social distancing before total lockdown to prepare for the baby. We spend the month playing outside, and invest in a blow up pool.

July 2, 2020: Harrison’s last day of daycare for our second quarantine stretch. He celebrates the Fourth of July with his best buddies on his last day. No parents allowed, of course, for classroom parties. We start our quarantine before baby boy #2 arrives: three weeks until my due date.

July 30, 2020: Baby Boy #2 arrives! Jonathan Brooks! Our birth is nothing like what we had been looking forward to when we found out we were expecting little boy #2. Masks, COVID testing, and absolutely no visitors were just a part of what made this birth-day so unusual.

August – September 2020: We adjusted to the insanity of balancing a new baby, a toddler, and an adult working full time from home. The house felt small. I felt like every day was a race to be run that I had to gear myself up for each morning. It is pure survival mode in almost complete lockdown with the whole family to try to keep everyone healthy until Jonathan can get his two month shots.

October 5, 2020: Harrison goes back to daycare! He is so excited to be back with his friends, back to a routine, and back to fresh toys. We continue social distancing, and being cautious about our trips out of the house, but finally ease up and get haircuts, go to dentist appointments, etc. Harrison plays outdoor soccer, the first organized activity he’s ever participated in.

Fall 2020: Cases are increasing at a rapid pace. But the case counts almost feel numbing. Given the high case counts, though, we forego holidays with my sister’s family.

Early November 2020: The very first COVID-19 vaccine candidate is announced, giving us hope that the end is in sight that we will not be living another year of no family holidays and outside activities.

Mid-November 2020: My grandfather passes away. We aren’t able to do a memorial service for him with the increasing COVID cases. We tentatively plan for a memorial service for him late summer 2021.

December 15, 2020: The very first vaccines are administered in the U.S. to front-line workers. Healthcare workers are up first. The COVID case count continues to rise, though, as the backlash from holiday gatherings continues to mount. We’re told that we may get a vaccine in July.

January 4, 2021: Jonathan starts daycare with Harrison, and I go back to work. Still virtual – working from home. It presents its challenges but also benefits of not having to pack pumping stuff up every day, making lunches, etc. in the morning. Nathan works from his office a small percentage of time.

Mid-January 2021: Our first family member gets her first vaccine! Working as a school counselor, Aunt Ashton is in the next priority group after front-line workers!

Mid-February 2021: My parents being over 65 are able to get vaccinated as part of the next priority group. Things are starting to feel more hopeful!

February 28, 2021: Aunt Ashton is deemed fully immune, and is the very first family member to be able to visit the boys without a mask, INSIDE without fear of passing this terrible virus around. It’s been a very very very long year without family.

Mid-March 2021: Nathan and I are able to procure vaccinations! Vaccine supply seems to be increasing, and case counts are dropping. My mom and dad as the next fully vaccinated people are able to hold their grand baby without a mask for the first time ever.

Nathan’s parents and my sister and brother-in-law are able to procure vaccines this week. It finally feels like the worst of COVID is coming to an end. Like maybe we don’t have to live in fear anymore. Just in time for spring again, the Earth bursting forth with new birth. It feels like we can all finally exhale.