Day Fourteen: Connect to Relatives

My kids have, of late, been connecting with their school friends through a series of Zoom meetings, which as far as I can tell, mostly just involve them showing off their dolls and pets and rooms and artwork to each other. But it’s making them happy to talk to these friends, who in many cases, are literally the next block over. I feel sad that they can’t just go over and play.

But, since seeing friends is going to happen over the internet anyway, why not expand that group of people to include cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. We Skype with the grandparents weekly around here but our cousin online hangouts are rare. Partially because kids do get bored just talking, talking, talking. So we’ve explored online gaming over the internet, as well as shorter video chats.

For us older people, being isolated is reminding me of all those relatives I don’t see often but who are, like me, juggling this giant thing of being home and trying to work and trying to homeschool and trying to not get sick and trying to not get anyone sick. Not everyone wants to reach out when facing all of this stress but it’s not the worst idea to pick up the phone and give someone a call. It may just be they were feeling scared and now they’re not.

So, today, consider reaching out to relatives. Write a note, text, call, FaceTime, whatever. Let’s take advantage of this time to strengthen our bonds.