RAISING KIDS DURING QUARANTINE
I think I speak for the entire world when I say that 2020 was the most difficult year. Covid-19 has ruined so many lives. There were so many loved ones lost, so many businesses closed, so many people lost their jobs and their homes. It was such a devastating year to say the least. You guys remember that movie from the 90’s with Dustin Hoffman called “OUTBREAK”? I grew up on that movie and I never in my wildest dreams thought we would actually live it.
When you’re having a baby, it would be nice if the child came with a manual. It would also be nice if that manual had a chapter in there with the title ‘PARENTING 101: PREPARING YOURSELF FOR A GLOBAL PANDEMIC SO YOU DON’T LOSE YOUR DAMN MIND’. To say that quarantining with a toddler was challenging is putting it very mildly. During the first phase of lockdown, we were terrified of going outside. The world did not know much about the virus during that time so we all had so many questions, so much fear, so much despair and sadness. My family and I did not leave the house too much (not like we could go anywhere) because we had no idea what we were facing at the time. We were scared to go to our own parents homes. We spent a lot of time with Arianna at home and did so many activities: practicing her letters, teaching her numbers, teaching her how to talk, playing with her toys and watching t.v., and if we did go outside it was to go walking but we could only do so much of that because my wife was 6 months pregnant with our son at the time and she would get tired fast.
After a while, Arianna was getting frustrated and very bored and we were running out of ideas. We stayed home so much that poor thing developed “Stranger Anxiety” where if she saw someone she did not recognize, she would begin to cry. However, that part did get better thank God. She also started to act out due to her boredom; she would get tired of her toys and throw them, throw tantrums to go outside, refusing to come back inside from playing in the front yard, it was rough. Thankfully, now that we are more educated on the virus, we can take every necessary precaution while still be able to visit our families.
I would be lying to you if i told you that it was ALL bad. Truth is, it was not all bad for my family and I. I completely recognize, understand and am grateful for my privilege for being able to work and keep a roof over our heads. I know SO many people were not able to do that and I recognize that. I was able to reevaluate my life and to better understand what I want and what steps I need to take to get there, I was able to reconnect with my amazing wife, I was able to have gotten to know my child and watch her develop her own personality, I got to help raise my daughter, I grew as a business man, developed ideas that I am SUPER excited about, and much more. So, it was not all bad. Whatever we went through during the pandemic, made us a lot stronger and much much more appreciative. That being said, just like the rest of the world, I CANNOT wait until this crap is over.