How to Keep the Fights Away and Enjoy Family Time During Quarantine
Fighting with family more during quarantine? Here are some ways to help.
Sometimes you just need a getaway from people and enjoy some alone time, whether that be a vacation, a nice drive down to the beach, a walk, or even just sitting alone in a room. Isolation from everything going in life allows people to just think. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the whole world to isolate from each other indefinitely. When Hofstra University announced an extended spring break it felt like I would be returning to school in two weeks to finish the semester. I never thought this virus would result in “social distancing” from family and friends in order to stay safe.
Coming home to visit with family was always a good time, but this time things were just a little different. In just a matter of days, the lockdown was put in place. I was now in isolation with my family which includes; my mother, father and my two sisters. My mom was thrilled to have everyone home together for the first time since my older sister entered college 4 years ago, as most moms would be. The only twist is that my mom and older sister were both working from home now and my younger sister and I still had classes through remote learning. Everyone was still busy during the weekdays except my dad, who unfortunately was unable to go into work or even work from home.
While everyone was doing school work or was at work my dad began to find small projects around the house to stay busy. He has cleaned out the shed, painted a room, and done a whole bunch of yard work to name a few. A cornhole set has been his favorite project so far. Cornhole is an American lawn game that is perfect for almost any summer event. Now that it is built my family plans on having a tournament against each other.
On the weekends when nobody has class or work to do it can get a little loud in the house. After all, we are Italian. In the beginning of the isolation period it was hard to cope with what was going on; not being able to see friends or simply just go out had everyone on edge. Everyone began pushing each other’s buttons and small arguments began. Has being in isolation caused more disagreements between my family?
Absolutely.
These aren’t real fights though, they are normally about small, stupid things that happen but it is all due to the stress we are all experiencing during these times. We knew that we would be in lockdown for much longer and were tired of arguing. We started to watch movies together at night and play board games, kind of like when we were kids again. Only this time we weren’t watching Toy Story or Finding Nemo. Doing these activities together not only helped fight the boredom, but it also brought us closer together.
While there are many movies to watch and board games to play, they can get boring if you do the same things over and over again. The saying "April Showers bring May flowers" remained true this year. But whenever the sun would finally shine through the clouds, our front porch was always put to good use. Nice weather and fresh air are always a great combo to bring joy to people after winter is over. We used the porch to our advantage to still talk with neighbors and friends around the block while still keeping our safe distance.
Though through these rough times there is an immense amount of stress throughout, it is still necessary to keep our sanity because without it, the fire will continue to burn. My family did not let the struggles in the beginning get the best of us but instead we put the flames out and moved on for the better.
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