A little while ago, my family and I were placed on a mandated COVID 14-day quarantine. One of us was exposed to the virus and the county gave us the notification that we were not to leave our house, except to seek medical care, for 14 days.
This hit us hard. We couldn’t go to the grocery store, get takeout, go to work/daycare, or even go for a walk. We were confined to our yard and our house. So, what do you do when you are told you can’t go anywhere? Here is a little insight of things I learned during my 14-days of quarantine:
- I took inventory of what foods we had and didn’t have and hopped onto our local grocery store’s website that offers delivery to get in an order ASAP. Do. Not. Forget. SNACKS!
- I also made a menu of what we were going to eat with the food we did have.
- I definitely made sure I had enough coffee for my new best friend: the coffeemaker. Its name is Beber and we are still on great terms.
- We explained to our daughter that this quarantine is what we need to do to not only keep us safe, but the community safe from the virus. This took a lot of letting her express her emotions, and letting her fears and frustrations out. We reassured her that it is okay to feel like this and we are all here for one another.
- We have a cat, so I made sure that we had enough cat food and litter. Our cat was getting weary of us around Day 10, and wondered why we hadn’t left the house long enough for her to sleep.
- I let people know that we were hunkered down in quarantine. Fourteen days is a long time, y’all. Let people know if you need help or someone to talk to. I tried to be the “strong” one and do it all by myself and not reach out. I hit a wall on Day 10 (along with the cat). I am beyond thankful for the coffee, kind words, and encouragement from friends and loved ones during this time.
- When we got to the point of being really really bored, I leaned on the small local businesses that deliver with contactless delivery! We ordered some items from one of my favorite local stores: Tangerine. The fart book and fart sound machine did cut the tension some days.
- We realized that there will be good days and there will be bad days. Uffda. There were some bad days. Days when everyone’s patience was tested. Days when you notice the ants are back inside crawling on your cat’s food (I had just thrown away the ant traps thinking that I had conquered them). Days when telling your child that they need to wait 10 minutes before lunch ends in an all-out floor to ceiling throw-down temper tantrum. You can’t leave, they can’t leave, routines are thrown off track, and it is hard. One day I just let her yell it out– all her anger and frustration. She yelled that she “HATES THE CORONA!”
I really learned a lot about myself and my family during those 14 days when it was just us. We like our routines and it is so hard to be thrown out of them. But we learned how to adapt! We created a new tradition during this time to focus on one good thing from the day. At dinner every night we hold hands and ask what our favorite thing was from the day, and we have continued this on.
I honestly believe that when I look back on this in 10, 20, or even 30 years, it will bring a smile to my face. The time that we all banded together, supported one another, yelled that we do not like the coronavirus, and the time that was spent together.
So, if you get that call saying that there is a 14-day quarantine, do not fear. Get the groceries ordered, let your family and friends know, become great friends with the coffeemaker, apologize to the cat or dog, and get ready for the ride.
When were cleared from quarantine the first thing I did was walk down the street to the stop sign. I will never take the little things like granted ever again. And went to Moka to get a coffee (sorry Beber).
