Quarantining with Kids – Stories from the HR Team

COVID-19 has really turned our lives upside down, especially those of us with children. Regardless of their age, all children are facing individual challenges as they try to figure out how to adjust to lock-down, quarantining, and social distancing. Everything they took for granted has changed. They can’t hang out with their friends or extended family, they can’t play sports, and they can’t even go to school. As parents we try our best to support them and assure them that as long as we follow the rules and stay clean and safe, things will improve and a new sense of normal will start to evolve.

But in the meantime, life at home with our kids 24/7 can be tough. They are sick of us and we are sick of them! We had to quickly learn new technology together and while we work remotely from home, our kids are getting their school lessons sent to them on Zoom. We aren’t used to home schooling and are struggling to find a healthy work/life balance now more than ever. Our kids are bored and miss their friends and activities, so we encourage Face Time and Snap Chat, even though it goes against everything we’ve been trying to teach them about too much screen time! But desperate times calls for desperate measures.

My family of five is all living at home although only one is still school-aged. Sam is in grade 11 and although he is actually handling quarantine better than I expected, because he is a very social kid he is still having a hard time being away from his friends. I have allowed a lot more video gaming and cell phone usage than normal just so he can stay connected with them, but I’m not really happy about it. As some of the restrictions have started to ease up, I have been allowing him to have a friend over occasionally for an outside visit where they can sit around the fire or walk down to the river while being sure to practice social distancing. He is handling on-line school pretty well and is managing to keep his grades up – likely because there isn’t much work assigned. But he is keeping me more updated now and staying on top of everything. I’m not sure how things will be in the fall as he enters his final year of high school, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.

The pandemic has definitely had its positive impacts in our household though. It has brought us all together in what I like to call “forced family fun”. The five of us have spent a lot of time playing games, indoor and outdoor, hiking, fishing, sitting around the fire laughing at old stories, watching movies and overall just connecting on a level that we haven’t for a long time. My kids are growing up and are starting lives of their own so although a world-wide catastrophe isn’t what I would have envisioned as the magnet that would pull us together, I’m very happy to have had this time with my family.

Remote working has been a challenge for me because I too am a social butterfly (now you know where Sam gets it from) and I value the camaraderie of my colleagues so much. We are always venting with each other and providing stories and advice to help us get through a lot of personal issues whether it be a baby that is keeping us up all night, or a toddler that will ONLY each grilled cheese sandwiches, or a teenager that is dealing with his first broken heart. Having a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen is so helpful to me and I miss it. I asked my colleagues to share with me their quarantining with kids stories and it gave me great comfort when I read them, realizing that we are all in the same boat together. Regardless of our kids ages, and our ultimate goal of keeping them safe and happy, the common theme is that this COVID time has allowed us to realize what is really important in our lives and to stop and smell the roses.

TARA ROZENEK

During this time of quarantine, I have had the joy of learning Science 9 all over again! My son is 14 years old and in grade 9, and like many, I have been juggling multiple roles from home. Working from home while supporting my son with his school work has had its challenges, but also its rewards. Back in March, when quarantine hit and we were all thrust into taking on the role of employee/teacher/parent – all from home, my life became a roller coaster. But as time has gone on, I’ve developed a routine that has made juggling all those roles manageable (most days, not all)! Teaching myself a Science 9 lesson so I can help my son understand has probably been one of the hardest parts. I had forgotten how hard it can be! But I’ve been successful (for the most part), in teaching it in a way that he understands; he has certainly benefited from the one-on-one help, and when I see that ‘ah-ha’ moment where he gets it — so awesome! But don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been all roses. Over 2 months of spending time with a teenager who doesn’t get to see his friends? Yeah, it has taken a lot of patience (and some wine) on my part to get through it! This has been the only time us parents can actually be grateful for video games, as this became his only form of socialization with his friends. One great takeaway has been that my family actually likes each other! Being forced to slow down, no rushing off to sports, or anywhere for that matter, has allowed us to appreciate the smaller things in life; things we used to take for granted.

SHAWN JOHNSTON

Quarantining with kids, like most things in life, has had positive and negative elements. It has been challenging to see my kids (ages 7 and 9) unable to play with their friends or take part in the sports they enjoy. It’s also been challenging to adequately assist the kids with their school work. We are not elementary school teachers. The abrupt end of normalcy was difficult for them.

However, the positives have outweighed the negatives. The kids have learned to be more independent and to work and play together. We have increased our time together as a family, and have found fun things to do, such as, during our evening dog walks, identifying plants and animals we find. Our best find so far is a female white form flower crab spider who lives in a local rose bush.  We visit her daily to see if she’s caught any bees.

Overall, quarantining together as a family has brought us closer together and focused us on what really matters: time together.

MARK PEARSON

Here is a picture of J and E on a day when we were all going stir crazy. Mom and dad were tired, home school was in full force, the dog was barking, the rain was pouring outside… and I needed to get us out of the house. We took a short drive up to Cultus Lake and as we were there the sun came out and we decided to make a stop at the boat launch / beach and get some fresh air. We were so glad that we did because it was just what the doctor ordered! We all felt great and it got our crazies out for the day. Balancing little ones, work, illness, home, school, pets and life during Covid has not always been easy or fun but we have given it our best to make sure our kids were not negatively impacted and that we made memories for them!

 

 

LAURIE COREAU

So far so good.  Quarantining hasn’t been that bad so far.  Thankfully we live on a dead end road so the kids have been able to still bike ride with their friends, while maintaining physical distance!  Building tree forts, bike trails and bike jumps are keeping us all busy.  I’m pretty sure, when the kids are older and look back on these times, they’re going to think these were the best times ever!