COVID-19

I gave birth in the middle of a pandemic. I write this as my newborn sleeps peacefully on my chest. The weight of her tiny body a reminder of what I accomplished during a very stressful time for so many. It...

Recovery is underway in the Iowa City area following a rare derecho storm that traveled hundreds of miles and pulverized local communities by uprooting trees, collapsing buildings, and downing infrastructure like water, electricity, and internet. Folks in clean-up mode can...

This year was, in all likelihood, the only summer I will ever spend at home with my kids.  I wish I had been able to fully enjoy it. I hope, in hazy memories, my kids will think of these three...

2020 has left many of us feeling, well. . .lost. This is a very uncertain time for all of us. No one is exempt from the stress and uncertainty from this pandemic and now we are divided about whether...

2020 was going to be epic. I had decided now that my kids are older, I was going to introduce them to a long lost love of mine — travel. I was even calling 2020 the year of travel! I had...

Last year, my family's summer "bucket list" contained of an exhaustive list of pools, splash pads, beaches, fairs, museums, and zoos. And then 2020 happened. By the time the 2019-2020 school year was officially over, my kids had already had 11...

Cancellations are nothing new to us by now. It almost seems normal to hear that an event is cancelled, but as a parent all these cancellations took a toll on me. My daughter is very active and typically has...

I wish this pandemic had never happened. I don’t think I’m alone in thinking this. I have days where I sit in my favorite chair, sighing deeply as I think about what is going on outside of the walls...

We are in this together. It’s the phrase I’ve heard 1,000 times. It’s the phrase that supposed to sustain us, to get us through. And it does help, it really does. But it’s also true that each of us is going...

When I think about summers growing up, I immediately think about swimming. My grandparents had an amazing in-ground pool and hot tub. I learned to swim at a really young age and spent many hours each summer swimming in...