Hi MamaDen Family –

I created MamaDen earlier this year as a wellness and togetherness space for mothers -- so we could gather, learn from prominent moms in their respective fields and support one another.

Our first event was scheduled for mid-March. It never happened. Covid shut the world down. And, MamaDen was put on hold as I navigated a new normal of quarantine life with two toddlers.

It’s been incredibly frustrating for me, because as a mother, I feel like we’ve never needed more support. Like many of you, I’m terrified that this crisis will set back a generation of women and a generation of children. We are all struggling to come up with imperfect solutions for our families in a cauldron of uncertainty.

So, The MamaDen of CE (Covid Era) is going to look different than The MamaDen of BCE (Before the Covid Era).

Perhaps our biggest challenge right now: school and childcare.

As parents and educators grapple with another school year of long-distance learning plans, we all know that there are other, albeit imperfect, ways of addressing this crisis absent a vaccine, regular testing, contact tracing, etc etc. Can our children socialize with their peers safely? How do you set up some sort of social contract with other families? How can we help underserved communities through this? Is it better for our kids to see other children in school or elsewhere if it means not seeing grandparents? Ugh!!

We recognize that even as we rush to form education pods and as some hire private educators, underserved communities, particularly those of color are disproportionately affected by the health, education and economic crisis in which we’re living. While we want to use whatever resources we can to help our children, I also feel incredibly guilty about it. It’s maddening that the world’s biggest economy has dropped the ball on preparing for a situation that was obviously going to happen.

MamaDen is your safe space. I invite you to use this forum to connect with other families, form education pods, throw out ideas for safely bringing all children together. Let's try and regain some sense of control over this uncontrollable situation. Let’s grow MamaDen together.

~Julianna