The year 2020 began with a lot of hope and expectation for San Diego resident Mayumi Nara. She gave birth to her second son just a month before San Diego, and much of the rest of the world, went into shutdown.
Nara was starting to hear about the coronavirus when she gave birth to Yuki in mid-February. Her mom came from Japan to help, but returned home early because the pandemic was spreading.
“At the beginning of the pandemic it was so dreadful because we don’t know what’s going on,” Nara said. “And we have the baby, the tiny baby. And I thought it was the worst case for me in my life.”
However, the shutdown kept the young family at home, and that was a blessing as Nara recovered from childbirth and cared for her baby.
“It’s the pandemic but … I’m so lucky to be with the family, get together,” she said.
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Nara’s husband is working from home, so they are sharing in Yuki’s progress, which is a major change from her first pregnancy 10 years ago. At that time she felt isolated and alone because she was new to the United States and her husband had to work outside the home as she raised Yuki’s older brother.
Yuki is learning to balance, and walking can’t be far off. The park is a great distraction when her husband is working at home and her older son is online for school.
But the pandemic is never far from her mind. The shutdowns made it hard to make friends with other moms.
“We’re supposed to take a class, a baby sign class,” Nara said. “I was planning to take it and to make a friend, for me, for him. And yeah, but they cancel.”
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But perhaps the worst thing for Nara is the distance from her family in Japan.
“Every day I’m chatting through the camera, without masks,” Nara said.
The Nara family was planning to visit Japan around the New Year. It was to be a chance to introduce Yuki to her extended family and friends.
But the resurgence of COVID-19 forced them to cancel.
“It’s quite sad,” Nara said. “They didn’t hug him yet. And it’s much different to touch him than just look in a picture or video... Whenever I think about that…it makes me so sad. I so miss them. So I am trying not to think of them more."
The Nara family is hopeful things will be better next summer so they can travel and visit family during the Tokyo Olympics.
