Five months ago a lot changed in our lives. In our personal lives, the lives of my daughters, our home life, and the world around us. Who would’ve imaged that all the exciting plans and dreams and hopes we had for 2020 would crumble down and show up in the form of a mandatory lockdown.

I can’t say that we have fully recovered form the emotional loss of all those plans and dreams we had, and my heart hurts especially for my daughters who graduated from College and High School this year and instead of living the life they had imagined prior to COVID, they are trying to make the best of this situation with the resources they have at the moment, just like everyone else.

I have made my best efforts as always to keep things light and happy and fun for our family, but I have also allowed myself to feel all the feelings, even those I’m not very keen of. I have also had to learn to support my daughters emotionally in a way that it was completely foreign to me and truth is, it’s been VERY hard. Nobody wants to see their children experience hardship and loss, but that is also part of life.

We continue to thrive with what we have at the moment, to make changes and most importantly to ADAPT in the midst of these super unprecedented times.

In the last five months since we got back from picking up our oldest daughter from New York City, on the day NYC was closing their borders due to the pandemic, a lot has happened. We celebrated three birthdays at home: mine, my husbands and more recently, my youngest daughter’s birthday. We also celebrated Easter, and two virtual Graduations, and yes, we made the best of them all with at stay home gatherings, homemade food and sometimes take out and each other.

This too shall pass. In the meantime, I’ll share what I wrote the day after we came back from New York a mid March wintery day.

As I’m reading this recount of events I wrote back in March when COVID was entering people’s lives full force and we felt the threat of the virus so vividly, it makes me appreciate a little more the freedom we have now about the way we live our lives while still in the midst of the virus, but being more knowledgeable and with more guidelines and safety protocols in place for everyone.

We don’t know what the future holds, but for now, I’ll do what I now what to do best, pray and hope and have faith for a better and healthier tomorrow. 💗

On Tuesday, March 17th, instead of celebrating St. Patrick’s Day at school, work and home like we always do, my husband, youngest daughter and I got in the car and started driving to New York City to pick up our oldest daughter from College.

Her school had officially stopped classes the Friday prior due to Coronavirus and things were getting quite serious in New York City with news of a possible city lockdown.

The drive was interesting, very few cars on the road but many trucks, more than usual. Oasis stops for gas and snacks were definitely unsettling, we were so careful to not exposed ourselves to germs and most importantly of course, coronavirus. We took disposable gloves and put a new pair on every time we pumped gas or had to use our hands to open a door, to me it was worth all the effort!

We packed sandwiches and many snacks for the 800+ mile drive we had ahead of us so we didn’t have to stop anywhere to eat.

On the way to New York City we stayed overnight at a Best Western Plus hotel in Pennsylvania to rest. It was either that, or driving straight to New York, picking up our daughter late into the night and staying overnight in NYC which we didn’t want to do for many reasons, so PA it was and I’m glad we did. The hotel couldn’t have been more accommodating and understanding of the situation, and before we left the hotel in the morning for us to continue our road trip to NY, the lobby had “grab and go” breakfast for everyone to avoid direct contact with food, so smart!

From PA to NY it was approximately a 2.5 hr drive, we were so ready to pick up Michelle and bring her home. She was anxious to get home as well.

Arriving in NYC was definitely eerie! The usual busy and noisy streets that characterize NY were now empty and quiet. It felt as if we had stepped into a different dimension. Not a great feeling. I LOVE New York City and this made me sad to see, except for the traffic, Stan was happy about the light traffic in the city that never sleeps! 

We arrived in NYC and before we knew it we were parking outside Michelle’s apartment in Manhattan. We urged Stan to stay in the car and Bella just ran out to greet her sister and help her carry her stuff. Love these girls and the love they have for each other! Our reunion with Michelle felt like a rescue mission, and if I think about it, it kind of was.

When Bella and Michelle were in her apartment getting her things, I called a local pizzeria near Michelle’s apartment and our favorite ever pizza place, Lombardi’s, which is considered to be the very first pizzeria in the United States, if you call the restaurant that’s the first thing you hear in their recording. 

The drive from Michelle’s apartment to this pizzeria is very short but busy with many cars and many people all over the place, this time... piece of cake, almost bare streets and hardly anyone crossing streets at random times.

The restaurant was opened only for take out and delivery like many restaurant are doing now, and what I really loved about their coronavirus service is that they were not even handling cash to avoid direct contact and reduce the spread of the virus.

As I waiting outside for barely five minutes for my pizza, a NYC cop was waiting for his pizza and as he was leaving he told the pizzeria worker “it’s going to get pretty ugly here, they have a few more cases at the hospital down the street...” yikes! The uncertainty in the air was very palpable and everyone seemed concerned. I grabbed my pizza box and left.

We thought about driving up to Broadway to look at the deserted streets but we just wanted to get out of New York and feel a little safer.

We drove until we were outside of NYC and had crossed borders into New Jersey to eat. We found a gas station and ate our pizza in the car and rested for a few minutes before we started driving again.

Leaving New York without doing anything fun there felt a little strange, but this was definitely not the sightseeing kind of road trip.

I’ve always loved watching my kids sleep in the car when we take road trips, it has always been one of my favorite things! Bella kept herself busy coloring and reading and Michelle slept and slept and slept, she definitely needed that rest.

On the way back home to Chicago we checked into a Comfort Inn in Ohio to rest for the night. I insisted on helping Stan with the driving, but he loves to drive on road trips, so I was fine being the copilot and taking naps. 

I couldn’t emphasize enough how dirty I felt (all of us) staying at another hotel with this coronavirus threat but we made the best of it. I think all of our hands were raw by the time we got home from so much hand washing despite our glove wearing.

Management at the hotel couldn’t have been nicer and more accommodating and they handled this health crisis with grace and professionalism. They made us feel safe and before we left they even offered a care package for each of us with snacks and water bottles for the road.

On the way home from Ohio it started raining A LOT and my PTSD about driving on a highway with driving and slippery road conditions due to a horrible accident I was in 28 years ago, got really, really bad. I was trying to hide it and be as strong emotionally as I possibly could and not stress Stan or the girls about it but there was a point when I seriously didn’t think I could handle it anymore and I wanted Stan to pull over and wait for the rain to stop, which according to the weather app wasn’t happening for another two to three hours.

I prayed a lot, I suffered a lot during that time and I’m sure I made Stan’s driving miserable with my anxiety of driving in the rain but I really couldn’t help it. Sorry Stasiu!

It’s amazing what we carry with us through the years from the experiences we have in our lives. The fatal bus crash I was in where some people lost their lives, will always follow me, I learned many lessons, but it also scarred me not only physically but emotionally.

My brother was asking me if I ever talked to a therapist about my experience with that accident and I said no. I think I might look into that, it’s pretty obvious that I never got over it, or the many fears that resulted from that accident.

It rained and rained and rained until we got home, but thankfully I made it. I had never been happier to be HOME safe and sound and with my family under the same roof!

I was so happy to have made it home, that after all those hours of driving and all that stress, I took a shower and immediately started chopping and dicing and preparing a homemade meal for all of us to enjoy.

Food is my love language, it’s the way I pray with my family. Food has always connected our family in a special way and yesterday, after we were all cleaned up and changed into comfy clothes, my cooking offered us more than nourishment, it was comfort for our souls and a sweet welcome home! ️💗