Life After Hurricane Melissa: Embracing a New Normal as a Working Mom

Hurricane Melissa changed all of us.

Some in big ways, some in quiet, unseen ways. Here in Jamaica, we’ve spent the last month doing what we always do after a storm — picking up the pieces and trying to get “back to normal.” The power lines are still down in many communities, water is limited, homes are damaged, and yet the pressure to return to our old routines is stronger than ever.

But here’s something motherhood keeps teaching me:

We aren’t meant to go back to normal. We are meant to evolve.

Major life events — storms, heartbreaks, job changes, births, losses — don’t come to push us backward. They often come to shift us, soften us, strengthen us, and redirect us. But we miss the lesson when we rush to “restore” what used to be.

My New Normal After Hurricane Melissa

I decided to stay at my family's home during the storm. I didn’t know then that I’d still be here more than a month later. There’s no electricity. Water is unpredictable. My daily routines have been replaced with a simpler, slower rhythm.

I’m washing clothes by hand and cooking more home-made meals. Sleeping in rooms lit only by candles and spending more time talking, laughing, and reconnecting with my kids and my parents. This isn’t what life looked like before Melissa, but it’s my new normal right now — and I’ve decided I won’t rush through it.

If I spend all my time racing back to the old version of my life, I’ll miss the whole point of this chapter.

Working Moms Know This Lesson Well

Motherhood has a way of breaking and rebuilding your normal over and over again. Every season demands something different:

• The newborn stage teaches survival.

• The toddler stage teaches patience.

• The school-age stage stretches your capacity.

• And the working-mom stage — whew — teaches reinvention.

Just when you think you’ve found your rhythm, life shifts: someone gets sick, work changes, and finances rearrange themselves. Your energy rises… or dips. And suddenly, the version of “normal” you were holding onto no longer fits the woman you’re becoming.

That’s what Melissa reminded me:

Life isn’t asking me to restore what was. It’s asking me to rise into what is.

The Real Lesson Hidden Inside Disruption

Whenever life shakes us, it exposes two things:

1. What actually matters.

2. Who we’re becoming.

This season may be uncomfortable, but it is also clarifying. Without constant electricity or Wi-Fi, I’m paying more attention to my children’s personalities, my parents’ stories, and my own thoughts. I’m reconnecting with quiet. With gratitude. With presence.

We often pray for transformation…but transformation rarely shows up in pretty packaging. Sometimes it looks like a hurricane. Sometimes it looks like an inconvenience. Sometimes it looks like a forced slowdown.

And sometimes, it looks like God saying, “Let me rebuild this part of your life with you. Let me show you a new way.”

Permit Yourself to Evolve

If you’re a working mom trying to juggle recovery, work, home, emotions, and faith — breathe. You don’t have to be who you were before the storm. You don’t have to perform strength. You don’t have to pretend to be “back to normal.”

Maybe your rhythms are changing.

Maybe your priorities are shifting.

Maybe your heart is learning new things.

Let it.

Your normal is allowed to evolve.

Your life is allowed to look different for a while.

This new season may be temporary, but it is intentional.

And when God allows a shift, it’s never without purpose.

A Soft Reminder Before You Go

As we each find our footing in this new season, I’m reminded that even the smallest acts of care can rebuild something meaningful. This moment isn’t just about surviving after a storm; it’s about choosing to rise together and honour the women who hold our communities steady every single day. And if your heart is nudging you to be part of that rise, I’m inviting you to stand with us. Partner with Efitmi Lifestyle by donating or choosing a gift from our registry to help a working mom rebuild with dignity, comfort, and hope. Together, we can help her create a new normal she feels safe in.

Help A Working Mom Rebuild