On March 13, 2020, before the chaos of quarantine was put into place, before the world completely flipped upside down, a miracle occurred. Ayden Elizabeth Hammond came into the world at 6 lbs 12 ozs, screaming for her chance at life. Filled with love, joy, and exhaustion Dani and Kyle embraced their baby, living in this moment that they waited so long to have, completely unaware of a world-changing outside that little hospital room.
The same night that life was being birthed into this world, President Trump gave the order for states to start implementing a stay at home order. For weeks, we would be confined to our homes in order to stop the spread of the Coronavirus and protect our families and communities. To brand new parents, this was a whole new level of what it meant to really be alone with your baby when you left the hospital.
But Kyle and Dani are doing it.
Grandparents that come to visit their first grandchild, stay on the porch and look at her through the front door. Or perhaps they’ll walk the streets together but at a distance, the weight of not being able to hold their new granddaughter weighing on them and building the anticipation for all of this to end.
that little girl will never question if she is loved. For even at a distance, she has an entire army of people loving her.
And while these days are hard, and doing it alone was not what they planned, Dani and Kyle are still filled with life. The energy they brought to a front porch photoshoot was awe-inspiring after how few hours I’m sure they had gotten of sleep. They laugh together and hold each other, more in love than when I took photos of them last August (as if anyone thought that could be possible).
Dani and Kyle are teaching us to roll with the punches. To embrace a scary new world with grace and to know none of us are actually alone. While the relationships with people outside their immediate family are different than expected, they have each other. They have the love and presence of friends and family who are itching to hold that sweet little baby (me included). And on the day that this is all over, and everyone can come flooding over to their home, that little girl will never question if she is loved. For even at a distance, she has an entire army of people loving her.
Katie Leigh
Bonjour, I'm Katie Leigh. I wear many hats but I call myself an artist and slow living advocate. Here on this blog, you'll find me writing about living intentionally and my life in the slow lane. If you want articles like these sent directly to your inbox sign up for my newsletter with the form in the righthand sidebar!