Pippa has been in a pod with two boys from her second grade class since the beginning of the school year. We meet at one family’s host because they have the perfect setup: a lanai, which is half-room, half-porch, and a babysitter who supervises the kids. This means I do not have to hover over Pippa for every minute of distance learning, which has been a godsend to us both.

At the end of Thanksgiving week, we learned that someone connected to Julian’s preschool class had tested positive for Covid-19. Out of an abundance of caution, pod went on hiatus for the rest of 2020.

In January, Pasadena had a Covid-19 surge. Our pod hosts were not comfortable bringing back pod — which I totally get and respect — so for the month of January, Pippa was stuck at home with her boring parents for distance learning.

It was soul-crushing for all parties involved, but I was most concerned about Pippa. My girl loves to be around other kids and day after day, she watched her brother skip off to preschool while she booted up her Chromebook. One morning, she told me, “I wish I wasn’t alive.”

Our hosts were still not ready to restart pod, but I knew Pippa had reached her breaking point. I asked the other pod mom, Hey, do you want to bring your son here next week for mini-pod? She enthusiastically accepted. (And she would have hosted herself, but she lives with her parents, and her mom has some health issues.)

For two days last week, we hosted bi-pod. On Wednesday, Pippa’s friend arrived and they were immediately bouncing off the walls with energy. Within seconds, Pippa’s inner light was brighter than ever. On Thursday, her friend came again for our class Valentine’s Day celebrations and they played Bingo and opened cards together. My heart was very, very full.

Then our host family announced they were ready to resume pod. HALLELUJAH! Yesterday, after a restorative four-day weekend, Pippa returned to pod. The kids picked up right where they had been last November in their elaborate make believe game they have been playing since August. My daughter is happy again.

Pippa still can’t wait to return to school, but for now, her pod is giving her mental health a very necessary boost. I am going to do everything in my powers throughout this ordeal to keep her connected with kids her age.