To my son, born in the time of corona virus and social distancing
A letter of a Global Mom
My dearest Noan,
What a great challenge lies uniquely before you in these trying times, my dear son. Your little mind has already witnessed a never seen man-made global pandemic and one day we will tell you stories on how humans would unleash an invisible enemy of a virus.
Today on our first Mother’s Day I write a letter to you my son. In the last couple of months, we have executed social distancing, staying at home while the world was taking a breather and using technology to feel a sense of human connection. The most poignant evidence that you were born into a new sense of reality was when you felt your mama’s kiss through a P-100 face mask. We wear those masks when we leave our so called “isolation castle”. Once this pandemic rolls over you will have had just enough of a taste of Life as We Knew It while a new normal will create itself organically.
You are the child of parents from Austria and the US with two different cultures, histories and mindsets. As a global citizen you will embrace everything both cultures have to offer for the rest of your life. With this notion you were inherently born into a globalized world in which travelling to both sets of your family is something you should have been accustomed to from the beginning. Right now, no continental crossing is possible. For the first time, even in my life, airports are closed, borders are locked down and whilst we sit here in the rolling hills of Austria the world for once has come to a standstill. The last time my home country has faced similar circumstances which go hand in hand with an economic fallout was during WWII; right after which the Republic of Austria was founded and liberated from the Nazis. This was exactly 75 years ago and most certainly will be a part of history I will always tell you about, so we don’t forget.
During Corona, we are doing something which will be remembered as #TogetherAlone and do things that have been on your mom’s bucket list during her pregnancy. Such as practicing more yoga together and reading children books your papa sent. I am saying this with hopes that once the lock-down is over and we look-out into this world again that we raise our level of mindfulness and awareness.
There are so many things I hope for you dear Noan. The most important thing is that you will continue to be able to roam around free in this world without any fear of an unknown enemy but rather live your childhood with a sense of normalcy so you can adapt to a new understanding of globalization and cultural interaction. I wish you abundance and love at its purest form and that you will get a chance to immerse yourself into many cultures as freely as you want to and learn from them as you grow up.
I write this letter to you my dearest son but also to any global mother to lend support during this time, if I can, in the untenable circumstances where you now find yourselves. Many of you have already forsworn, what seemed at the time, to be the unfathomable. As you navigate these waters, those of you who read this will experience another emotion, that of resolve — the resolve to center yourself, each one of you, and draw upon your inner strength. You possess the strength to protect your baby no matter the circumstances, no matter the fear or discomfort you face as a mother. You are your child’s greatest protector, and you will prevail as you make this tenuous decision. A decision to embrace our big brain’s ability to imagine different realities and communicate how we want to tell the story of COVID-19 to our children.
Stories of bravery and victory will come out of this pandemic and will always provide strength to the generation of corona kids. My dear son, you were born into a time where yesterday’s reality becomes today’s unreality. You will grow up in a generation who will understand that the unknown is not the enemy, but rather the opportunity for new hope.
It is my hope for you, that COVID-19 pandemic soon goes down in history as a triumph of human’s indomitable spirit and determination.
I hope you carry the same superpower with you while you waltz through life with hope, resilience and a pocket of full dreams to shape this world into what it is meant to be – your playground for life
Never forget, the great thing about stories is that they are always under revision. Now go write your happy ending.
Yours,
Mama
