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| Photo by ready made via Canva |
Quarantine has been no joke. Sure, we do have more than one introvert that thinks that quarantine should be a way of life. They are living it up, but not everyone feels that way.
We also have an extroverted teenager here. He has been doing a great job so I checked in with him to see what has helped him cope.
Here is what he said helped:
He went online, using Discord, Messenger, or Google Hangouts or to keep in touch with his people.
He reminds himself that the lack of a variety of people he sees in person will not last forever.
He reminds himself that the lack of a variety of settings will not last forever. Also that he gets to move to different places on our property. The key is in not staying in one place all day to prevent boredom.
He keeps busy with projects that make it more pleasant to pass the time at home. That includes helping with the landscaping, and helping others in the house get things they need to do done to free them up for fun things together. There was even a quarantine related parody that was written and performed about rocking quarantine.
He dreams a little with friends about things they will do after quarantine but leaves the topic as soon as it becomes discouraging to think about what we are not currently doing.
He reminds himself why we are doing what we are doing because hard things are doable when they are part of a goal.
He reminds himself that he is not alone in his effort to protect himself and others.
He focuses on the things we CAN do right now, like art, purging the things we are not using, walk the dog, knock off your schoolwork so that your time is freed for when you can see people.
He took up a new skill and works on ones he already enjoys, like art.
He keeps his sense of humour intact: Meme sharing and following politics to poke fun at the current situation have reached the level of art form. Statler and Waldorf live here I am telling you. If it exists it can be heckled. They even started a game of Apocalypse Bingo. We laugh a lot around here. Finding a way to laugh with the people you are spending time with makes a huge difference says he.
So I guess Mary Poppins was right. In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and SNAP the job is a game. This quarantine thing can be done, take heart.
