Maia Bryan, 23, comforts her son, Henry Mok, 8 months, after he took a fall in their south Lincoln, Nebraska home on Friday, February 23, 2024. A stay-at-home mother, Bryan has spent long months feeling the solitude that may come to postpartum parents, but has recently worked to spend more time with nearby family.
Bryan married David Mok, 27, on March 21, 2020 in Omaha, Nebraska, the day before all Lancaster County courthouses and wedding locations shut down due to COVID-19. Due to the job instability caused by the virus, Bryan has lived in 6 homes spanning the country in the past 4 years since they wed.
Bryan and her son relax after a couple minutes of active play on Friday, February 23, 2024 in their Lincoln, Nebraska home. Bryan and her husband faced toxic family relationships during their time living in Birmingham, Alabama. Bryan is cynical about her parents-in-law’s opinions of her, and feels conflicted about the relationship she wants her son to have with them. "Henry is their baby's baby," she says. "They love him, not me."
Bryan lifts her son overhead in her Lincoln, Nebraska living room on Friday, February 23, 2024, a parental habit picked up from her father who had done it often to her when she was a child. "Family is the biggest reason why we moved back to Nebraska," Bryan says. "It's why the other places were so hard to live in- I wouldn't even call them homes." Bryan and her husband felt secluded in their Alabaman townhouse. Though Lincoln and Birmingham share the same time zone, they are nearly 14 hours apart.
Henry Mok sits patiently in his stroller in windy, 62-degree weather on Friday, February 23, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. To escape the monotony, Bryan takes her son on daily walks, which was not previously an option due to the lack of walkability of many cities. "My favorite thing about Lincoln is that it's walkable," she says. "In other places, I couldn't walk anywhere without driving to get there first."
Bryan and Mok check for mail on the rickety porch of Mok’s first home on Friday, February 23, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. “My house was literally built in 1900. It is not baby-friendly,” she says. “I just want him to be able to crawl around.” Most homes in the Irvingdale neighborhood in central Lincoln were built between 1900 and the 1950s. As such, many fall into disrepair, ridden with rodent problems and prone to burglary.
Bryan graduated from UNL with a bachelor's degree in English in May 2022. She went on to work as a Lincoln Public Schools paraeducator. "The south has horrible childhood education," Bryan says. "In Nebraska, Henry will get better schooling."
Bryan spoon feeds Mok a combination of apple, carrot and pumpkin baby food in their kitchen in Lincoln, Nebraska on Friday, February 23, 2024, provided in part by Nebraska’s participation in the Women, Infants and Children public health nutrition program. WIC assists in providing healthy food for low to moderate income families with three locations across Lincoln.
Bryan holds Mok before bedtime on the ground floor of their home on Friday, February 23, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska, which is slightly cluttered due to recent visitors. Bryan’s community consists of her family, church and friends from her time as a Lincoln Public Schools student. “I feel comfortable raising him in Nebraska,” Bryan says. “I need these people.”
Bryan smiles with her son’s hand upon her face on Friday, February 23, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. “I want to stay here,” Bryan says. For the first time in their lives, Bryan and her husband have renewed their lease. For at least another year, their plans are to remain in their happy place.
