Dear friends,

This week my brother and his family made the long-awaited move from Atlanta to Athens and our quaranteam officially has three new members. My girls are overcome with excitement to have a 2-year-old cousin with which to play, teach and touch. 

We had been masking and socially distancing since March, but on Thursday I got to pick my nephew out of his crib and hold him for the first time while he woke up to the world. My eyes watered and I felt something I hadn’t in so very long...joy. 

After a long day at work, I joined my entire Athens family for dinner at my parents’ home. As I walked in and saw my sister-in-law, my mind said, “I HAVE A SISTER!” It came out of nowhere. I felt a shift in the universe. We were closer already. The proximity and the ability to pop into each other’s daily lives, to raise our children collectively, is a joy I couldn’t have imagined. It has brought me so much peace. If anyone is contemplating something like this, I’d say go for it! 

Meanwhile, things are still trucking at the little shop that could. We’re still offering online shopping 24 hours a day. We’re also offering porch shopping, so call ahead (706) 549-8900, tell us what you want to see and we’ll create a pop-up shop just for you!

I worry that reBlossom could be doing more to help, but the back end of running an online business is no joke! Just when I’m feeling down, a mother of five comes to the back porch and needs clothing for her children and I’m able to bring baskets out for her to look through and choose and she’s able to walk away with three bags full. Then I remember why I started reBlossom in the first place. A place where we can help each other, pass our clothing and baby gear on from one family to another and do so while lifting each other up.

I keep clinging on to the feeling that one day, in the not-so-distant future, we’ll be able to be together again in our reBlossom, our sanctuary, our space in which we can all be sisters and brothers and we can collectively parent and learn from each other. 

One day soon,

Monira