After months of trying to work from home while keeping an eye on the kids, parents in some places are now heading back to the office for the first time since the pandemic began. And as much of a struggle as it was for so many of us to be home, transitioning back to the office is also so emotional.

Case in point? This adorably bittersweet video posted by meteorologist Dylan Dreyer.


Dreyer’s actually been away from the TODAY offices for seven months, according to People, because she was on maternity leave before coronavirus came around. That means 3-year-old Cal has had extra time to get used to having mom around, and it showed in his reaction.

Riding down their building’s elevator as Dreyer headed off to work, Cal’s words are enough to melt any mother’s heart. “I love you, mama,” he exclaims. “I wish I could go with you, mama!”

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We can’t feel too bad for the little guy, however. Dreyer’s husband Brian Fichera hilariously narrates the rest of the video and it seems Cal will be having plenty of fun without mom around.

“Guess what we can do?” Fichera asks. “Now that mommy’s gone, we can stay up late, and we can have…” Cut to a shot of a delicious s’more, which Cal promptly chows down on. Not a bad tradeoff.

Leaving Cal and baby brother Oliver to return to the office probably isn’t easy for Dreyer. But after so many months of balancing both work and family from home, she might welcome some kid-free focus. She hilariously shared the mess that lurks just off-camera when she’s working from home on Instagram, and of course, we’ve seen so many hysterically funny videos of kids interrupting their parents on TV—a scene Dreyer managed to avoid.

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Dreyer has also already proven that she’s the queen of multi-tasking, sharing on air that she’s been using a hands-free breast-pump while working. Moms have had to pick up the slack on so many fronts during the pandemic—whether it be with more cooking and cleaning, figuring out to work remotely, and even filling in as teacher for school-aged kids—but moms like Dreyer prove that women always find a way to get the job done.