Let’s address the facts shall we? Do I love my kid? More than anything. Do I like spending time with him? Most definitely. Would I put my life on the line to save his? Without hesitation. Do I want to spend every waking moment with him, 7 days a week? That’s a hard no. Let me give a quick shout out to the parents who enjoy 24/7 parenting with no “me time.”  You are truly mythical unicorns, to whom I graciously bow down to. Now when I signed the parenting handbook back in 2014, when my son was born, I undoubtedly missed the fine print regarding pandemic parenting. In my haste to become a mother, I missed the part about becoming an impromptu homeschool teacher, all you can eat buffet chef, looping entertainment cabaret and around the clock housekeeping, all with no breaks.

It’s day 1,986 of being home with my six year old son, with no school, no summer camp, no sports and no extra curricular activities due to the Corona Virus pandemic, subsequent quarantining and social distancing. In that time I have drank 2,986 bottles of wine. While these numbers are somewhat inflated, they certainly seem accurate.

However, for all the complaining I can do, when you become a parent, the unexpected, comes with the territory.

What’s not expected, is having to restrict your children from doing the things they love. After all, the best part of growing up was the carefree living, being able to play with friends, doing activities, being with loved ones and just being a kid. All of that has ceased for my son.

We take Covid-19 very seriously. I’m an asthmatic and just recently, my asthma flared up bad enough for my doctor to recommend that I didn’t work for a while. My mother has also moved in with us and given her age and underlying health conditions, we have been following the CDC mandates to wear masks and continue social distancing. The new normal of masks and isolation, have created a void for adults and children alike but the idea of disregarding the recommendations and being social isn’t appealing either.

The silver lining of Covid-19 is that it has given me the opportunity to really get to know my child. By that I mean, you learn more about a person when you’re confined to your home with them, children included. My son went to school, some times the after school program, did karate 3 days a week, played basketball and went to the trampoline park every Saturday. I was also gone 3 days a week with my job as a flight attendant. When I look back on it, we were together most days but we really didn’t have much quality time together. But for all the time we do spend now, you can never replace the same age camaraderie that children get from each other.

My husband was on the phone with our friend Erv. His family dynamic is the same as ours. Him and his wife both work and have a 6 year old daughter named Khloe, that has been cooped up at home during this pandemic. We consider them our family and vice versa. When the guys were on the phone, Khloe asked if she come to our house. This is something we’d do often, my son spending the night at her house and her staying at ours but now things are different. Anyone you invite into your home has the potential to kill you! Ok that was dramatic, it’s true but slightly over the top, yet this has been my mindset for the last 4 months but clearly Khloe was over it and truth be told we were too.

My husband and I discussed it. Something so simple as our little Khloe coming to visit was a major decision to be made. We both realized that Khloe’s parents take things as serious as we do and that she had not been anywhere since all of this started, so we agreed to let her come and spend the night. We were actually excited that Chief would have some company. We texted Khloe’s parents and they were so excited, that they never replied to the text.

Now a few weeks prior to this, Erv had texted us, saying that Chief could come and spend the night with them and guess what? I didn’t know how to respond and wasn’t ready to send my child into the world of contagion, so I never replied.

I figured it out though. There needed to be a conversation between us parents, so I called Erv. We made small talk before I just flat out asked him if he was apprehensive about Khloe coming over and he said, “yes!” and I’m all, “me too!!” From there we were able to talk it out, discussing our fears and getting an understanding of the others feelings. Some parents may not feel as strongly about being socially distant and that’s okay, it’s just best to know where everyone stands on the issue, to make the most informed decisions for our children.

Needless to say, Khloe came over and a fun time was had by all. I have never seen children so excited to see other. It really warmed my heart. They talked and laughed for hours and truly enjoyed their time together.

This pandemic has really put a damper on our lives and our summer. We are human, we want to have fun and live our lives, we want our kids to enjoy themselves and be happy, while being safe.  I’m sure that we will one day get back to some normalcy but until then, have open and honest conversations with other parents and let your level of comfort lead the way.