Special Delivery
Since March 13, all of my personal and professional energy has been spent on “life after Corona.” Weddings are postponed, vacations rescheduled, furniture deliveries now 6/7/9/30 weeks out. We’re all looking forward to a return to normal and being able to pick up our lives where we left off. There is so much comfort in concentrating on a return to being with loved ones again, going back to our regularly scheduled work life at the J, frequenting our favorite restaurants, and getting our hair done (I currently look like Cousin It from The Adams Family.)
Despite all this focus on the After, being pregnant has put a huge focus on the Now. While I can turn a planned babymoon into a 5-year anniversary trip, I can’t do much to postpone this ‘special delivery.’ Having a literal due date has helped (forced) me to refocus on the here and now and enjoy this weird break from reality. Life is still happening despite our attention on what can be pushed back, rescheduled, and resumed later. It’s easy to get caught up in what we’re missing and how to make up for it as quickly as possible, but there is beauty in the moments passing now and for that I am thankful.
Because of this interruption I see Freddy learn each new barnyard animal noise, creatively work with our fantastic JCC Chicago team to work on unprecedented projects, eat a lot of coffee cake from Kirschbaum’s, and shift my thinking from go-go-go, to ‘enjoy these moments of peace’ before we’re back in the swing of things (and there’s another person to keep alive.) While it feels like we’re stuck in a waiting room and the Dr. is running late, there is still life to appreciate now.
Easier said than done, and my hate of the unknown paired with a big type A personality show their face every few days…. when I can’t visit my Grandma and my pregnant best friends or my Amazon packages are delayed and neither Jeff Bezos or J.B. Pritzker are willing to commit to a date. I am grateful to the meaningful contributions I’ve been able to make on behalf of the camp and early childhood teams at the J that have kept me busy and been a welcome distraction at this time.
So, while looking forward is what keeps us sane and is necessary, my advice is to take some photos along the way of things you’ll want to remember from these times because in 20 years you’ll be telling your kid/camper/younger coworker how you made it through the pandemic of 2020–uphill both ways and at least some tiny part of it was really great.
Betsy McDaniels—
Sr. Financial Manager, JCC Chicago
Recent Update: Lincoln Larson McDaniels was just born on Sept. 4, weighing 7lbs 8oz. Big brother Freddy is not thrilled yet, but everyone is healthy and adjusting to being a family of 4.