Apart, together. What a great way to describe what we have been going through in the world lately. It’s been a time of isolation, but also a time of community, strangely. People that haven’t communicated regularly are even communicating MORE because of this crazy phase of life. It’s somewhat surreal to me.
I am blessed to live near both my family, and my husband’s family. I don’t know how I would feel if we still lived states away from family, but thankfully, I don’t have to find out. Being close also means my little guys are both VERY use to seeing family weekly, if not more often. I know not everyone was distancing from immediate family, but we did, and it was rough. We all missed each other. At the beginning the boys asked daily if it was Gigi or Grandma day yet. I had to keep saying no, over and over. We couldn’t play with our neighbor friend, even though we could see them, and we couldn’t go out to the playgrounds to expend some energy. It was rough without that connection. And it was rough trying to explain that to a toddler and preschooler.
Staying Connected
Not seeing each other as often, or at all really, meant we had to rely on other methods for connection. We texted, we set up re-occurring Zoom calls, we face timed, and there were definitely some porch drop offs and waves, chats, and I love you drive by visits. We were apart, together.
Grandpa brought fruit and snacks for the boys, and even some toys. They were always morning porch surprises for the boys to enjoy. Pop-pop dropped by with meat, and to grab a cooler and to say hi to the kids. I got to see my sister when she did a grocery delivery to my house because no one delivers out to her. Any moment of connection was loved.
Diving Deeper
This crazy time of stress, change, and uncertainty, has opened up our honest communication. Checking in and trying to get genuine responses opened up lots of great conversations and feedback. We all worked on projects to keep us busy, and shared the highs and lows that often come with projects as well. Gardens were being planned and created, field were being cleaned, houses sorted, and newborns growing. We all did our best to share and take joy in the little things.
I often made a mental note to take more photos and videos to share with family, as well as share funny things the boys were saying. I wanted everyone to know how they were changing and growing, as well as handling the current situation. The grandparents approved.
Moving Forward
As we have started to open up and begin visiting one another, we continue to limit our public activity. We hang out outside or at each other’s houses, cooking, playing, and chatting. We continue to check in with one another, brainstorm about how to get different things done, and always have alternate ways to hang out if need be. It’s so nice to know that even apart, we can be together. But it’s definitely nice being together once again.
How has your family stayed apart, together?
This post was written as part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to read the next post in this series “Together, Apart”.
created by @pheonixfeatherscalligraphy for C+C, 2020
My parents will be coming down in July for which I’m so excited for! It’s been six months since we’ve seen them since we just moved back to the USA after 9 years of living overseas…I wanted this move to mean we see people more but with COVID it’s been much of what we already experienced. I’m hopeful it’ll change at some point.
Man, that’s so tough. Only living 8 hours away while my boys were being born and growing was rough. I can’t imagine being over seas. Here’s to the light after the storm! ❤️