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When the United States shut down last year, my husband and I joined the ranks of millions of American families navigating uncertainties regarding our health and safety and the care of our loved ones. We both work full-time and had no idea how we could manage our professional commitments and care for our 4-year-old son without our normal child-care arrangements.
But we were luckier than most. My mother, a Jamaican immigrant who lives on the East Coast, offered a year and a half of her life and moved to Michigan to care for our son while we navigated our new Zoom work lives. That arrangement continues to this day.