Does anyone else feel like January was six months long, but also, how are we already halfway through February? Time has been moving in this bizarre, stretched-out way lately. Every week feels long, but somehow, I blink, and another one is gone.
Maybe it’s because so much has been happening. Leah is 19 weeks pregnant today—almost halfway. The baby is healthy, which is the most important thing. But in the midst of all the excitement, there’s also been a lot weighing on us, especially when it comes to figuring out maternity leave.
Turns out, even in 2025, the U.S. is still failing new parents. Leah works in Pennsylvania (even though we live in New Jersey), and she only has short-term disability, which gives her four weeks of paid time off. That’s it. After that, it’s unpaid. So now we’re in full planning mode, trying to figure out how to make it work financially if she takes the time she really needs. Meanwhile, I get three weeks paid, and it looks like I might qualify for some New Jersey benefits since I work remotely. But it’s all so complicated, and none of it feels good enough.
And the most frustrating part? This country is all about family values—but where’s the actual support when families are growing? It shouldn’t be this hard. I know Leah and I will figure it out. If I have to pick up another job so she can stay home longer, I will. We have family, we have friends, we have options. We’ll be okay.
But I can’t stop thinking about the people who don’t. The ones who don’t have a partner to lean on. Who don’t have family nearby. Who have to go back to work before they’re ready because there’s simply no other choice. It makes me so sad and so angry that this is just… how it is.
On top of that, things have been emotionally heavy for Leah in other ways too. Pregnancy is a lot. Her body is changing, and clothes aren’t fitting the way they used to, which has been hard. I’ve been doing everything I can to support her, to remind her how incredible she is, how strong she is. But I know I can’t take away the feelings that come with it. I just have to keep showing up, keep reminding her she’s not in this alone.
So yeah. Life has been a lot lately. Beautiful, exciting, frustrating, exhausting—all of it at once. And somehow, time keeps moving forward, no matter how weird it feels.
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