Health experts say clinical outcomes for babies who contract COVID-19 are very reassuring, but the virus's unknowns remain distressing for parents.
Brennan is the family's outlier, everyone agrees, during the pandemic and well before. While the kids all identified as Republican growing up, when Brennan went to Kansas State University his political views shifted. He met and fell in love with Haylee.
His siblings also mark that time as a cleaving. Brennan's years away created a rift.
"Kean, the second-oldest, he's definitely a Trump supporter. And I would say Brennan is definitely a Biden supporter, so opposite ends of the spectrum," Shari said. "I think the masks are just kind of a symbol of all of that. ... It's been a challenge for me as a mom to basically give a space for all of those beliefs for all of my kids."
Brennan and Ryan describe their bond in similar terms.
"He's so much like me," Brennan said.
"I love his personality, probably because it's so similar to mine," Ryan said laughing. "He's social and outgoing, and he wants to be inclusive."
But neither Ryan nor Brennan can remember the last time they saw one another. They think it was in the fall. Before COVID, they hung out every few weeks, watching movies, playing board games, talking over a beer. When Rhodes was born, Ryan and his wife wore masks to meet the baby.
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