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How is the coronavirus pandemic affecting your life right now? Tell us about your experiences, feelings, and thoughts.

This week was my son’s third birthday. Instead of a party or a special outing we had cake and presents and bbqed outside since it was unseasonably warm. One set of his grandparents are now fully vaccinated so they came over for a little while (still outside only, still in masks). We had many FaceTime calls throughout the evening: the other grandparents, cousins, friends. My son was thrilled. And I realized he doesn’t even know a world where friends come over to houses or where kids ride carousels. Just his two of his grandparents stopping by was over the top amazing for him. This comfort of his with this pandemic life is both hugely helpful and a bit devastating for me. When we go hiking on the weekends, he runs to the side of the trail when we run into other hikers, he reminds me to “Give the people space, mommy”. When we pick up books at the library, he looks in through the glass, not wistfully as he did a year ago, but practically to see what he might want to order for next time. He doesn’t even remember going inside anymore. Words like “mask”, “curbside pickup” and “sanitizer” are part of his daily vocabulary. Covid life is the only life he knows.