How a Twitch Channel Became My Happy Place
Where was your happy place during the pandemic?
One month before Covid-19 was a thing in the U.S., I found out I was pregnant. Little did I know that a pandemic was coming and what I had to look forward to. Isolation during the most physically and emotionally challenging time of my life…
If I were to see into the future and see this story five years ago, I’d say this is someone else’s story and definitely not me. My husband came home from work one day and excitedly told me about this place where you can live stream yourself doing anything while having a conversation with other people. His friend suggested that he start up a channel, thinking it would be perfect for my hubby and his personality. Of course, he was low-key interested in gaming anyway, so he started up a Twitch Channel!
Fast forward to today and he now has a thriving community on Twitch called “the Flock” and more than 20,000 members on Discord. The Flock hangs out in the chat while he streams to catch up but also we share pictures, memes, etc. on Discord after the stream is over.
Not everyone gets sicker than a dog while being pregnant. Some say they’ve never felt better in their lives, but that wasn’t my story. I had no idea growing a human was so hard, plus my hormones were on another level. I laughed and told my husband, “If you thought I was crazy before, I’m sure you think I’m really crazy now.” When I would cry for no apparent reason, he learned that I just needed to be held.
Have you had the stomach flu before? Imagine having that going on for 6 months off and on. The term “morning sickness” in pregnant women really means a sickness that strikes you any time. I wrote this in my diary while 18 months pregnant: “for the first time in a while, I could walk and move more normally without my stomach getting sick”. Yeah, it sucked.
Don’t get me wrong, I was excited about the little life growing in my belly, but physically and emotionally I was very down. The Flock is where I went during this downtime. I considered the Flock as my community, but then they became my family. They were there for me when I didn’t feel like getting out of bed and being alone while my husband streamed in the other room during the shutdowns.
We had a gender reveal on Twitch instead of in-person during the pandemic. Also, The Flock was there to throw us a virtual baby shower and make this mama’s heart happy when I thought I wouldn’t get to have one at all. They were there to celebrate with us when we had our first baby, a little girl, at a time we weren’t comfortable with her being exposed even to close friends and family in person. We felt so much pride and joy to introduce her to the world live on Twitch.
Colic is something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. Our little girl had colic until she was around 6 months old. It sucks to have no idea how to help your sweet baby, but the Flock had several parents who had tips to help us. They had experienced colic with their babies as well.
So here I am today, so thankful to have this Twitch Channel in my life. The Flock helped me get through the hardest season of my life and became close friends and now what I consider family. We continue to hang out nearly every day during the week, being there for each other during dampening defeats, personal victories, and everything in between.
So now I have a question for you…Where did you find your happy place during the pandemic?
