There are very few areas of our lives that have been untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of it, we shop and travel differently now, we work differently now and we even worship in new and different ways.
Yes, there are very few things that the COVID tendrils haven’t crept into and altered in some way.
Perhaps the area most affected, however, was how we parent. The times of quarantine have turned working mothers and fathers into full-time stay-at-home parents and even changed work-from-home and stay-at-home parents into makeshift educators.
At VUE, we were not impervious to the changes that the quarantine brought. As directed, we sent our amazing staff home to work safely as we continued trying to provide news of our community to our readers.
As we planned for the issues that followed the quarantine, we wanted to continue our mission of highlighting the people in our community that “step up”—the ones that sacrifice, who go above and beyond and who see challenges as simply things to conquer. To that end, we’ve featured teachers and cafeteria workers, doctors, nurses and paramedics, charity leaders and local business organizations.
But one group of heroes has not yet been recognized for the amazing things they did during the pandemic and the quarantine. For the flexibility they showed when things were changing quickly, for the love they had and for the sacrifices they made, the VUE staff salutes the parents in our area.
As we brainstormed this particular story with our staff, we came quickly to the realization that we had all experienced it first-hand. Many of us are parents and grandparents. We had lived through the cabin fever, the panic-shopping so we could feed our family, the empty toilet paper shelves and the questions from our kids about why they couldn’t see friends and family.
The thing is, after the initial panic subsided, after we had home offices set up and after every family member had figured out the new daily schedule, we started to slowly see some benefit to our new “normal.”
Maggie Armon, VUE Founder and Operations Manager was suddenly working from home with sons Jack, 5, and Colt, 2, and her husband, who was furloughed from his job.
“Don’t get me wrong, it was stressful navigating the business during that time,” she says.
“But with the business on pause for a minute, it was just me and my family, and we all needed each other.”
Many of our staff members embraced their new roles and learned something new about themselves in the process.
Jessica Rudolph, Account Executive and mom to three-year-old Sutton, realized that she could be flexible in developing a new plan for her family and a new set of jobs for herself.
“To make our world keep spinning, my daughter and I had to alter our routines,” she says.
“She has a slightly different sleep schedule now, and I have learned how to juggle being a mom, housekeeper, teacher and playmate.”
Account Executive Samantha Powell takes comfort in the deeper relationship she and her husband developed as they adapted to quarantine life with 8-month-old daughter Piper.
“My husband and I have always made a great team and helping each other evolve in this time is something I am proud of,” she says.
“New routines and ever-changing circumstances were a constant curve ball that we learned together. It really showed us how to lean on each other when life was so unpredictable.”
Adam Bretz, Digital Content Manager, says that he was able to find something very important as he parented their sons Jackson, 5, and Jordan, 1 while his wife worked as a front-line hero at Mercy Health-Lourdes Hospital. He found perspective.
“One thing this has taught me is that being together and having happy kids is significantly more important than finishing projects and to-do lists. There will always be something else that needs to be done, but our kids will only be little once,” he says.
Maggie says that the shift gave her the opportunity during the quarantine to learn a little more about the people that she shares her life with.
“We as a family really got to know each other on a level that may have never happened if we had not shifted out of auto-pilot and stopped to only enjoy each other’s company,” she says.
“I am grateful to God for blessing us with this time together.”
For all of us—and we are sure for many of you, too—the break from the daily grind and old routines gave us the chance to revel in the ordinary, the small things, the most magical things.
“I hope my boys remember how much me and my husband just played with them during this,” Maggie says.
“Normally, to be honest, as parents, the last thing we want to do after a long day is sit down and play with our kids, but when the pandemic started, we were all they had – they didn’t have other family members or friends or kids at school and church to play with–so we had to get right in there with them.”
“Going to the park, flying kites, playing in the sand and Jax hanging with me outside when I was working on the house and also him lifting weights with me in my garage is something I won’t forget,” says Adam of his family’s time together during quarantine.
Samantha says she has been able to witness some amazing new things with her daughter that she otherwise likely would have missed.
“As a working mom, you can only hope to be around when they learn new things for the first time. Since Piper is 8 months old, I have enjoyed being around for so many milestones. She has tried food, learned to walk in her walker, swam and much more,” she says.
“This is quality time I will always hold close to my heart.”
Jessica says she was able to see one of her child’s milestones through a different lens during the quarantine.
“This year my daughter’s third birthday party wasn’t fancy, there were no birthday invites sent out, or a bunch of sugared-up kiddos running around,” she says.
“Instead it was quaint and filled with love and laughter with just our immediate family.”
“I remember the days leading up to her birthday, I was so sad that we wouldn’t be celebrating like we traditionally would, but in the end my heart was overflowing because I could tell by the smile on her face that she had everything that she could ever want right by her side!”
Without a doubt, the pandemic has changed us all in one way or another. For us, we believe it is a change for the better.
Maggie and Jessica both agree that these circumstances have shaped them into better parents.
“Because of this time with my boys and my husband, I feel that I am forever changed as a mom,” Maggie says.
“A mother’s bond with her child is not something that can easily be put into words, but I truly believe that I am a better mother now because of this pandemic and quarantine,” Jessica echoes.
Samantha believes the uncertainty has given her cause to draw closer to her faith.
“As a new mom, the past few months have given me my fair share of anxiety and fear,” she says.
“I have learned to lean on my faith and give it all to God, trust that he’s got this.”
“He will always be there to pick you up and to open your eyes on the positivity in life.”
