I am appreciative of Vermont and Vermonters, particularly now and especially with a recent event in my life. My seventy-seven-year-old father had urgent open-heart surgery in New Jersey at the end of October following a heart attack.
Quarantine is not as fun as I thought it would be. When this whole thing started, I was actually somewhat excited. It sounded like a great excuse to sleep in, watch YouTube all day, and forget everything I learned in middle school math class.
I live in East Charlotte, the far southeast corner where a small group of homes has been built and inhabited over several decades. Early on, there was a concerted effort to create a well-connected neighborhood with summer celebrations, potlucks and fun.
This pandemic has separated us physically from the ones we love…except the ones we love the most, the people we chose to spend the rest of our lives with, who are now really, really, really present.
The coronavirus is not dampening people’s spirits. Anica Gruber is one of those people. She is a ninth grader at Champlain Valley Union High School and we came to her with questions.
We interviewed some families, and learned that most kids would rather be at school than at home. For example, 4th grader Parker Trono hasn’t gone anywhere except outside.
Just a month ago, Paige and John Reynolds were settling into life with no kids at home; six months before that, their last child had left for college. One college student abroad, one in another state, and one coronavirus later, not only are the chickens coming back to the nest, but there’s a self-imposed quarantine and two family members are moving into the barn. This is the reality of life with college kids during a pandemic.
There are lots of lists online of games, homeschooling schedules, activities, and workout regiments for the whole family, which are fun, but not exactly my style. I decided to make one of my own. Play at your own risk.