2 Years In

 We have reached 2 years into this pandemic and I want to journal and remember what I can about these days.  I've posted a few updates over the years so want to get this milestone written down.  First of all, I cannot believe we've been living this way for 2 years now.  At least in the state we live in, we've been pretty conservative about getting back to "normal".  

Over this last month it is the first time that I feel like life really feels back like it felt before all this happened.  The kids are pretty much back to all their normal activities and keeping us super busy running them around! They have been so patient and willing to adapt. They've sacrificed big birthday parties and multiple activities that they love.  I am thankful that they didn't have to deal with all the adjustments to school that so many other kids have been dealing with!  

I remember when Peter was first sent home from work and it was so exciting, almost like a snow day. We thought he would be home for a couple weeks and then we thought for the month of April. He hasn't stepped foot in an office since! If there was a silver lining to all of this, I think it is definitely that he now has a full time remote job and doesn't have to commute anymore. It has presented unique challenges for him and getting to know coworkers but the trade off of more time with the family seems worth it! When Eli required a trip to urgent care last week for a bad cut, I was so thankful he was here because it would have been much more difficult to figure out what to do with 6 kids and getting him the care he needed if Peter was working 90 minutes away.  It has completely changed our family life for the better! 

While the big kids were definitely impacted, I think the weirdest part of it all is how it impacted having little kids.  Ayla was born before all this started but she has spent almost her entire life as a "quarantine baby".  Seeing people in masks is completely normal to her and she has barely been away from me at all in 2 1/2 years.  Being pregnant and having a baby in the midst of the worst wave was very interesting and a bit unsettling. I hated that the kids couldn't come and meet their brother in the hospital.  I thought wearing masks while giving birth was going to be super weird but I was in so much pain I didn't even notice until the nurses told me to take the darn thing off (and things moved so incredibly fast that they didn't covid test me until AFTER the baby was born).  The absolute hardest part for me was not having any support system in the NICU as they only allowed one parent at a time in, That was so exhausting and so hard!  It was also very disconnecting to have to be so cautious towards the end of pregnancy as Delta raged on and then be so cautious with a newborn. It was definitely a hard time to not get to show off or share my new baby boy the way I wanted to and very isolating during the post partum phase. I try to be optimistic and all of that is behind us now and I am so grateful that we got through pregnancy and these first 5 months with a completely healthy baby! 

Honestly the pandemic has just sucked. It isn't even the virus itself anymore, I feel like it is what I have seen it do to families.  I know far too many families that it has destroyed, between differing opinions about masks, vaccines, vising etc.  It is truly a sad situation and my heart breaks for the long term impacts this will have on relationships.  It feels weird to be coming out of this (hopefully for good) and getting back to living life the way we actually want.  Peter and I went on a date, in a crowd, without masks or vaccine requirements for my birthday and I told him that was the most normal thing we've done in 2 years!  It is weird but also nice to feel like we are moving forward and I really hope this trajectory continues. It has been a long, difficult 2 years but we are looking forward (at least for awhile) to seeing friends and family more and hopefully having more normal birthdays and holidays this year!