It was quiet. It was lovely really. We wanted to do so much for work: re-write the Wedding Lab, finish a book draft, write on here every day, launch a shop but instead, we spent it as full time-parents and it was a silver lining of a very sad year. Rory was not in school while COVID peaked on Island (November through March) so we did a lot of art, homeschool, baking, walks on the beach even when the wind was so insane and we were all wearing every layer we could carry. We lit the fire every night. We watched Bridgerton (without the kids).
I spent a year nursing a beautiful baby girl who doubled in size in my arms. I hardly put her down. We co-slept. I woke up to her squishy kissing face every morning. I didn’t miss a milestone — a completely different parenting experience than I had with Rory who had a nanny from 8 weeks old when I returned to a busy and travel-heavy work schedule.
As cliché as it sounds, it grounded us. Of course there are many more important things than work but it would not have been possible for us to set aside the time to just be parents had it not been for the mandatory break. Yes, there were lows: moments of needing to go for a drive just to breathe and feel like an adult, a fear of drift, so much uncertainty, nights by the fire feeling overwhelmed by Zillow and our next steps. But we emerged more confident parents. I very much hope that we have a third child and that we take these lessons of not missing life’s most treasured moments — the mundane beauty of the day to day — again.
