She came home smiling. I didn’t realize how much that moment would unravel me until I saw her hair and realized I didn’t have answers.

From a rodent-filled Queens apartment to a sun-filled Brooklyn home, this is a quiet story of survival and finding light.

June 2020. My first day home with my daughter after an emergency C-section during COVID in New York City. This is a real-time reflection on pain, fear, gratitude, and learning how to become her mother.