Welcome Home, Freya Arabella

It’s official: I am a grandparent! Last Tuesday, my son (and Boone County Journal reporter) Alex and his girlfriend Sarah welcomed a beautiful baby girl named Freya Arabella Naughton into the world. She is, of course, the most beautiful child to have ever been born in the history of children being born. (I am an opinion columnist, not a reporter like my son, therefore I am allowed to make such proclamations.)

Travis Naughton

Another proclamation: A pandemic is a hell of a time to have a baby.

Working as a substitute teacher at a primary school, I accept that I am at risk of being exposed to any number of pathogens, including the coronavirus. In order to keep myself, my students, my co-workers, and my family safe, I only remove my mask at school for a few minutes when I eat lunch, I wash my hands more than a surgeon, and I use hand sanitizer so often that it peels the flesh from my hands. When I get home after school, I immediately change clothes and wash my hands, arms, and face thoroughly. I do everything I can to be safe.

~ Read the rest in today’s Journal ~