In March of 2020, Maureen was photographed with her husband Jeremiah and their son Julian. Maureen was a teacher, just beginning virtual teaching while Jeremiah owned a piercing shop, Good Life, which had to be temporarily closed due to COVID mandates.
“I was having serious anxiety and panic about teaching,” Maureen said. “By early March I stopped working for the most part because I was debilitated by anxiety and depression, which turned out to be a direct result of burnout. I remember thinking, “I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't function. I can't get out of bed. I'm so anxious. I'm having panic attacks." I'd never experienced any of that before.” Maureen decided to take work off through spring break, when suddenly the Stay at Home order was put into effect.
“The timing was great. Jeremiah decided since he was already laying everybody off and figuring out what the new world looked like, he'd take care of Julian while I taught upstairs,” she said. “It was just like this symbiosis that worked out with our schedules. Then the school year ended, and I was able to take care of Julian so Jeremiah could reopen the shop.
I felt like the universe was conspiring to help me and I don't want that to sound insensitive because it was also a really scary time for the whole world. People died and people suffered, but it came at this moment where I didn’t know what was wrong with me and I needed time to figure it out. I needed my grind to slow down, and that's what I got.
I decided not to go back to teaching and I felt instant relief from my anxiety and depression. I felt this freedom to explore things that I always was interested in but could never do because I was teaching 60 to 70 hours a week and trying to be a good mom and manage all of these things. I started being able to dream again.
That summer I decided to go on a journey to become a gestational surrogate for two men who felt like family from the first time we met,” said Maureen. She and Jeremiah met Kevin and Eric and connected immediately. Soon after, they began their journey together.
In January of 2021, they transferred one embryo. At their 7-week scan, Maureen, Eric and Kevin were shocked to learn the embryo split twice and that they would be expecting triplets!
Maureen gave birth to three healthy triplet girls in September of 2021. Since then, Maureen and her family have been a regular part of Kevin, Eric, and the girls' lives.
"My mom loves them so much so she and Jeremiah both pay visits. Julian comes with me and he thinks of the girls as his cousins. We get to see them quite a bit.
I couldn't have done this without the support of my family and these guys who wanted to take this journey with me. It’s really cool that even though this is my story, all these people were such important characters in it.”
I really do credit Covid for freeing up my life and giving me the space to dream of new things. I can do more with this slower life, where I can say yes to things again.”
