Tell us about you and your family.
Derek and I both grew up in Rye and feel so lucky to be able to raise our family here. We have three girls: Jackie (6 months), Petey (3), and Daisy (4). Derek is adjusting to life with all these girls and is a phenomenal girl dad!
Pre-Covid, Derek and I both worked in the city, but we have really enjoyed spending more time with the girls while we work at home. We are also very close to our parents and siblings, and our girls are best friends with their cousins. It has been such a gift during Covid, for all of us, to be best friends with family.
What was it like having a baby in 2020? Any particular challenges? Joys?
Baby Jackie, named after her great grandmother, is pure joy. She was born on May 20th at Greenwich Hospital, and we are all obsessed with her. Her arrival into the world was complicated and masked, but the trauma has started to fade. Derek was able to be with me at a time when a lot of other mothers had to deliver alone. I'm especially grateful for that because our anticipated one night stay ended up being five days, with a follow up visit to the ER the next day, alone. But a week or so later, we realized that having a newborn during a pandemic is the best - no place to go and no visitors! Also no sleep, but that's normal, right?!
Honestly, we have had no real challenges. We had a few moments of very minor "trial" though...
We had started work on our house in January and hoped to be back in at the end of May. We moved back in early October, just as I returned to work from maternity leave. Although not our ideal plan, we were so grateful to be living at my parents’ house in Rye, enjoying the beautiful outdoor space, and giving the girls precious time with their grandparents and beloved black Labs, Tiller and Belle. We also managed to escape a few times to some nice spots around New England which was a gift. Two suitcases and a Dock-a-Tot for the five of us!
What has 2020 taught you?
1. Gratitude.
2. Patience.
3. To live without 95% of the things we own.
4. A new drink for every season.
5. The Snoo, a life changing bassinet, can be rented.
6. Zoom is just not even close to the real thing. We really miss people.
7. You can do anything with a mask.
8. It’s OK to turn off the monitor (sometimes).
9. We love our neighborhood and neighbors, now more than ever.
10. Decorating the outdoors is just as important as the indoors! (Thanks, Mom!)