As covid rages and we are all “voluntarily” hibernating, I feel grateful. Apart from my health, paycheck and home, I feel grateful to have made choices in my life that haven’t left me overexposed, emotionally or financially. Covid preys upon individuals who are old, weak and sick. But it also is preying upon our collective stress and anxiety in ways that are ubiquitous and inescapable.

I’m calling this episode “part I” because I don’t think we are anywhere near “the end” of covid and I know this conversation will continue to evolve. So far, I’ve come up with these ten reflections:

1. “Home” is no longer the sanctuary it is romanticized to be; now it’s another battlefield in the war against covid.
2. “Normal” will never mean what it meant to us even 2 months ago.
3. The kid-free community is exempt from an absolute shitshow on the parenting homefront.
4. It’s a GREAT time to be childless, and kid free people feel validated that our lifestyle is being recognized and appreciated in a way it arguably never has before.
5. It takes a global pandemic for many people to see the value in a kid free life.
6. Similar to 9/11, covid is an event that will reverberate around the world, in every society and culture, for years to come.
7. If there is one lesson I hope parents learn from covid, it’s a massive reality check on how many “co-parents” they actually have in the form of a complex web of support systems.
8. Covid is proving that parenting without support systems is overwhelming and miserable.
9. There will be a renaissance for the kidfree community post-covid.
10. Post-covid, I hope there will be more awareness of consciousness around the decision whether to procreate.