Well, folks, it's been a busy year. Baby girl was born in April 2019 and it's been one big BLUR of parenting since then: feedings, milestones, diapers, repeat, repeat, repeat. I've loved every minute, don't get me wrong, but it's consumed my life and I know that I'm super lucky to be in a position to take parenting on full time.
Our little pumpkin was healthy, happy and on a GREAT schedule. Chef Paul was thriving in his 10th season at The Metropolitan Opera and I was even able to schedule voice students every now and again around his rehearsal schedule.
Then the "Rona" came into our lives and shut everything down. Our livelihood of live performing arts were the first to close and will be the last to come back, sadly. We had some big plans on the horizon that are all now on pause or lost completely. You just never know, do you?
Look, I'm not trying to play a game of who's had it rougher, especially when I can still say that every member of my family is still living and most of them haven't even gotten sick, but don't think for a second that during quarantine I haven't wished we weren't confined to a 850 square foot apartment! For those of you with houses and backyards to get outside for fresh air, just imagine being trapped on the third floor trying to maintain some normalcy for our family. For instance, we couldn't go to the gym so we just started doing YouTube workout videos in our living room. You adapt.
I'd heard that the biggest issue for some people during quarantine was maintaining a schedule. Well, that wasn't an issue for us. Each day we woke up and started caring for a 1 year old. She has kept us grateful, positive, exhausted, motivated and still, even in the midst of such a crappy time, in good spirits.
The super weird thing is that during this period where the world seems to stand still, our little girl is changing rapidly. I look back at photos from March, April, May, June, July, last week, yesterday, five minutes ago, etc. and I'm baffled at how much she grows mentally and physically every day. It's such an odd juxtaposition. Sure, not having our parents fly in for baby girl's 1st birthday was hard for all of us, but we adapted to a virtual celebration. Through the magic of FaceTime, the grandparents were able to sing Happy Birthday and witness first steps, first words and first waves in real time. It's certainly not the same as real hugs and kisses and everyone tasting Chef Paul's delicious homemade cake, but we made the best of a situation that is out of our control.
Ladies, find yourself a dude who knows how to frost a pink princess cake!
Well, stay safe, friends and family. I hope to see you all soon. Until then, please stay at least 6 feet away from each other and keep your masks covering your beautiful faces.
I love you too much to lose any of you.
Leave your dirty shoes outside the door, please :)