write next door Happy at Home for All Ages

write next door

WITH COLUMNIST COLLEEN D’ANGELO

Happy at Home for All Ages

The pandemic has turned our lives upside down by shutting down schools, closing offices and limiting our human contact. Every age has been affected and every age struggles to find a new normal. Healthy routines can add structure to our long days and give us a sense of accomplishment during this unusual time. Here are some ideas for every age to make the most out of your summer.

Elementary Children

A quarantine time capsule is a fun project to document stories from this unique period. Parents and children can take the opportunity to work through their feelings of frustration or isolation and also preserve their memories. Check out www.whatmomslove.com for printable questions and prompts to answer so that your adventures are passed down to the next generation.

Ayon Nag with one of his baked specialties.

Left: Greta and Gunnar Grass landscaping their home.

Dublin resident Heather Carlisle suggests a bookworm project. Her family keeps the head of a bookworm pinned up all year long and adds segments each time they complete a book. When they reach their goal, the family celebrates with rewards.

“We do the same with summer workbooks,” Carlisle says.

Meg Perez makes “COVID baskets” for her grandchildren each week, filling them up with workbooks, arts and crafts, flash cards, snacks, and baked goods. The young ones complete the activities during the www.dublinlifemagazine.com

week and then give the baskets back to Perez so she can refill them.

“It keeps the children entertained and on track with school while their parents work from home,” explains Perez.

If you want to send joy to someone in the way of a dancing and singing character, then contact Paulette’s Princess Parties. Choose from princesses and characters who will bring a sound system and microphones to perform on your street or driveway. They’ll even take social distancing photos. It is a fun take on the neighborhood parades that have become popular during the pandemic. Arranged by donation only.

High Schoolers

Cooking is a lifelong skill that has become more important since we’ve been recommended to stay at home. Recent Dublin Jerome High School graduate Ayon Nag has taken to the kitchen and is experimenting with baking, especially breads. His tastes range from focaccia to jalapeño cheddar cheese to rosemary olive oil bread. Yet Nag’s favorite is the one he was most skeptical about: zucchini bread with walnuts and cranberries.

Erin Mattis played the “Chopped challenge” by providing her daughters with four main ingredients to see what they could create. They each received a basket of chicken breasts, pasta, broccoli and bacon. Fourteen-year-old Athena made pasta carbonara and 13-year-old Sophia created chicken Alfredo with bacon-infused broccoli. Both dishes were delicious and the girls loved the challenge!

Ingrid Grass is a single mom and frontline healthcare worker who has been working 11-12 hour days since March. She has two teens at Dublin Jerome who have increased their independence while quarantining and take care of the house. Both kids now do the laundry,

Aliya Brennan and Madeleine McNarma dress up as Beauty Belle and Madeleine McNarma for Tululah and Penelope Edu’s birthdays.

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cook dinners, do dishes, and weed and mulch the yard. They have also redone their bedrooms by painting the walls, as- sembling new beds and tearing out the carpeting tack by tack.

“The pandemic has been stressful but Gunnar and Greta have learned valuable life lessons that will serve them well at col- lege and beyond,” Grass says.

College Age and Up

Having my 20- and 23-year-old daugh- ters temporarily return to the nest has been a blessing in so many ways. I find that parenting is not necessary, but coaching is still warranted. Our discus- sions have evolved into financial topics such as investing, the stock market and buying real estate. We talk about mort- gage rates, interest rates and the pros and cons of leasing versus buying a car. They see firsthand how expensive household necessities are like groceries, furniture and flowers for the garden. Then comes the good stuff: chats about boyfriends and what makes a good partner, husband and father. My kids have always been more willing to open up their hearts when we are face-to-face and for that I am grateful for this time together.

Older Adults

Many of our older parents and grandpar- ents are still quarantined and not able to be as social as they would like. It is just as important to keep our elders busy and in- volved as it is our children. Teach an older adult to FaceTime or Zoom so that they can still see your face and feel connected. Make sure to write down the step-by-step instructions to video chat so they can fol- low along if they forget. My 80-year-old mother lived with us for 10 weeks and she appreciated the closed captions for TV shows, news and movies. My mom also said she wanted to help and feel useful, so I gave her tasks to help with the cooking, laundry and gardening. Encourage family and friends to reach out often and send cards and pictures to lift their spirits. Stay safe, healthy and positive!

Colleen D’Angelo is a freelance writer who lives in Dublin with her husband, three children and several small animals.

She enjoys playing tennis, walking the Dublin bike paths and traveling. www.dublinlifemagazine.com

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