Crete twins born at beginning of COVID-19 pandemic turn 3 years old
CRETE, Ill. (CBS) – It may be surreal to think this time three years ago, every headline was about COVID-19.
The virus consumed seemingly every aspect of life, but imagine what it would have been like bringing home newborn twins during that mess.
Morning Insider Lauren Victory introduced us to little girls from Crete who are celebrating their third COVID birthday.
Pandemic panic shopping was already in full swing when Gov. JB Pritzker ordered all bars and restaurants in the state to close to the public on March 15, 2020.
On the same day everything shut down, the world opened up for Nissi and Nalea Young.
It was a whirlwind to say the least.
"We went from one kid to three right at the top of the pandemic, so we didn't have any type of reference point for that," said dad Rodney Young Jr.
Coronavirus chaos really hit at home.
"We had all these plans in place about who is gonna bring what food," said mom Nikeya Young, sharing those struggles in a CBS 2 story from March 26, 2020. "Help us get sleep so we could not lose our minds for the first couple weeks and so now, none of that's happening."
Young said she was doing some reflecting recently and thought back to that 2020 interview.
"We should kind of update what's happened in three years," she said.
The girls are now talking and walking. They're growing fast and close to their older brother who is homeschooled.
COVID-19 meant virtual birthday parties and lots of time with just each other.
"They looked at people strange," Rodney said.
Nikeya added, "Like, 'Why is everyone's face covered?' You could see them kind of turning their heads like, 'What's going on there?'"
Bare feet are another pandemic baby quirk. Nissi got used to no shoes since the family, like so many others, didn't go many places.
Victory: "Can you believe it's been three years?"
Rodney and Nikeya: "No."
March rolled around fast again. The family kept the twins' birthday calm and cozy.
It felt right, just like the world.