52 weeks was not what I signed up for

Here we are. The same week a year ago when the world really hit pause. At least for those of us in the US. I was high off of travel to Hawaii and Mexico and the pandemic did not feel real to me for most of February and early March. Not until the NBA decided to put the season on hiatus. Once sports stopped I looked up and payed attention.

I have had a lot of thoughts recently about approaching this milestone. My life looks drastically different today than it did a year ago. Last year this week was day one in a new role with a new team all on zoom, a tool I had never used before. I downloaded the free version for a virtual HH with girlfriends and now, along with you and your grade schooler, am a full blown & paying super user.

With so much to reflect on I wanted to share my most personal takeaway from pandemic life. Naturally for this space, it centers on parenting. Early days and weeks of quarantine, maybe come the beginning of May. I confessed to Mike that this was not the parenthood I signed up for. Pre pandemic I would see my son 1-2 hours in the morning and then an additional 3-6 at night. With work, workouts, meals, coffees and a commute in between. This allowed me to exist and try to be my best in two different and separate worlds. I tried to be in the zone and as fun as possible in my time with Mario, check my #weekendsareformomo tag on IG. And relished my time away from him either in the office or on business trips.

Without a commute to work and without full day care in pre school I was living a very different life. It was full on and it was extremely difficult. I could not be the best version of myself as a leader or contributor to my team or as a mother. It was hell for me but also for Mike & Momo too.

I had a lot to be grateful for and reminded myself to see check my silver linings. A home, a job, a partner to co-parent with, safe & easy access to food, water, heat, etc. all of our basics and then some were definitely covered. I reminded myself of this daily. Still though, I was losing my mind and felt horrible about it.

Ultimately, I found comfort in texts and FaceTimes with other working moms in the same position. Two of my best friends had just given birth in March and April. They were experiencing the first weeks and months of motherhood in isolation so we leaned hard into connecting and comforting each other.

What are your key takeaways 52 weeks later?

I also leaned hard into the humor and sheer insanity of this life we were living. We were making it work but the wheels were off but so were everyone else’s right?

I will forever remember this time as something I would have only previously imagined from a sci-fi movie. The insanity of quarantining your mail or grocery bags before letting them in your house. The masks, the gloves, the social distancing, the vast unknown about the virus and its spread. Remember all this!?! I mean I know masks and social distancing are still very heavily in practice but remember at the start?

Look back for a second, pat yourself on the back or pour a glass of vino. You made it. To a year. A milestone we never thought we would have need to celebrate. Nothing is over but the vaccine is here, days are getting longer, flowers continue to bloom and hopefully you are coming out with a better sense of self. Personally, I am moving forward with a better understanding of who I am and firmer boundaries within my relationships and of course continued appreciation for the things in life that I get to experience.

What are your takeaways 52 weeks later? What had you losing your mind?

xx Ly