surviving 2020: in the words of a nurse and a mom of five.
2020. It has been quite a year, am I right? For this family 2020 started off with the purest of joys, welcoming their 5th baby, Finn. When Jess (mom) and Chris(dad) had Finn they knew that they wanted to soak in every little baby moment since they knew that he would be their last. Little did they know that a global #pandemic was going to rush in and change everything. Jess is a full-time nurse. It wasn't long after she returned to work that #covid hit, hard. Most people in her position would be lost. How do you balance a new baby and four other children, a house, a husband, and a puppy? For this momma the answer was simple. She decided to do what she felt called to do, help. She quickly landed a position to travel to #hospitals in need of medical staff. Knowing her and watching her journey is nothing short of incredible. I, like many of us, have been so inspired by the selflessness that these front line workers have shown ESPECIALLY this momma who not only did what she knew needed to be done but also made the incredibly hard decision to leave her family and her brand new baby to work. A whole year of missing small moments, baby giggles, womb jumping smells, and all of the little things that mommas enjoy with their new babies.
I asked Jess to write a small paragraph in her own words to describe her year. This is what she had to say:
" When I returned from maturity leave, I never imagined I would go back to work in the midst of a pandemic. Shut downs across the state occurred the week before I started back. Was I scared? Yes. Was I anxious? Yes. Did I want to go back to a job potentially exposing myself and my family including a #newborn? Absolutely not. But, I also didn’t have a choice. This year I learned so much, you either wake up everyday and have a choice to conquer the day head on or stay in the position exactly where you are. I suffer from #postpartum depression and this year increased that exponentially.
Leaving my five children was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do and continue to do. As a #nurse, we stand at the bedside with patients and their family to provide safe, effective care. But now, it’s completely changed. Families aren’t at the bedside, but talk via a speaker phone or #zoom call. The level of acuity is so high, and yes we are trained to take on patients who are incredibly sick but 2 or 3 of them at once is completely unsafe. I juggle a lot on my plate as many #healthcare workers are who are having to be a teacher on their off days, can’t find daycare or family to help care for their children because they risk exposing others, can’t even touch their families before completely showering just to give a hug, and the list goes on.
I rely on my friends and my family for support and strength through this difficult time which still hasn’t hit its worst yet. Please be thankful for what you have, extend a hand in anyway to help someone out, and find joy this Christmas season. It’s not easy, this is the toughest year that any of us have had to face - politics, virus, and racism, just to name a few. My kids need me to be the best I can be to support them through the complete chaos they’ve faced. Here’s to finding the magic this Christmas, and making it spectacular in your own little way!"
I hope all of you have a wonderful #New #Year. Hold the ones near you extra tight, chill the champagne, and try really hard to stay up until 12:01.
Krystle's notes:
Jess and I always have so much fun creating looks for her #family #photo sessions. Since this year was basically a crap shoot she told me that she felt like getting a little extra for their holiday session. Your girl is so here for that. I googled fancy holiday photos, found my inspiration and shared it with her. If you have read this far you have seen the photos and now know how damn magical and very extra this look was!!! If you ask me, we sleeiiiighed!!! <-see what I did there ;P
