An open letter to my daughters: Life before and after COVID

Dear Livia and Isabel-

It’s hard to believe that it has been six weeks since we canceled the soccer trip to Richmond and everything around us changed overnight.

At dinner one night, Livia, you said that at least you will not have to study COVID-19 in school.

Your comments threw me back to 9/11, when we knew the world would never be the same. For the two of you, 9/11 was just an event in history. The post 9/11 world is the only one you know.

And Livia, you are right…we are all living through history!

How it will play out from here, we don’t know yet. But I do know we will grow through this experience together, and you will miss these days when you go to college. One day you will tell your kids stories about these days with fond memories. 

We are settling into a new routine. A routine that I am realizing we will miss deeply when we go back to whatever the “new normal” will look like.

I’ve grown accustomed to breakfast, lunch and dinners at home with you. Relaxed Sunday evenings without planning a trip or discussing travel schedules.

I will miss your virtual piano and music lessons, serenading my meetings.

I will miss the family bike rides and restorative on-line yoga sessions with Isabel.

And while I miss your soccer tournaments, I am celebrating the laid-back weekends we rarely get, and will miss them too.

But I also find myself reflecting on our experiences together over the past six weeks as we have worked to manage homeschooling and two working parents.

I worry how much you are really learning.

I worry how your teachers are holding you accountable.

I stress that I have to check-in on you too often, making sure you are focused on your virtual learning and not on Netflix or TikTok.

I wish I had more time during the day to play teacher (a profession I dreamed of when I was a child).

I feel guilt for not being available or having the right skills to teach you Science or Texas History.

I worry about what you think of Dad and I on video calls, spreadsheets and reports all day, especially when you have something “very important” to say exactly when we are on the most important meetings (Isabel knows well what I am talking about!).

However, I have also been focusing on the positive side of the life lessons you are both experiencing now.

You both are getting a front row view of what it is like to go to work. You watch us get up early, organize our days, go about our commitments, find time to work out and treasure the time for family meals.

You walk into client meetings and through the screen, you are having a much deeper understanding of how the world actually works.

I know you don't love Dad’s math book hour of the day. You will appreciate it one day and will be thankful he helps math make sense for the world we live in. You are likely even learning more math now than you would in school. I promise it will be handy one day!

When we finally come out of the house, we will experience a totally different world. Life before and after COVID. One day you will join the job market and I hope you use every single bit of this experience to help our society with ideas and solutions to continue to make this a better world for all of us.

I want you to remember that we are still lucky. The most vulnerable amongst us are also the most impacted by the pandemic. The social differences that are already deep in our society, will likely grow even deeper. We all need the skills you will develop to help close this gap.

While you are missing the formal school education and social interaction, these life lessons are invaluable. We will come out of this more resilient than before.

I know one day we will continue to travel the world the way we’ve always loved. But for now, all that is available is the four of us here, at home, together.

This is priceless family time that we will never have back. Let’s continue to make the best of it.

I love you... more than you can possibly imagine,

Mom