“We’re Getting the Band Back Together” — How Quarantine is Bringing Families Under One Roof Again

I doubt anyone will say quarantine is a normal time. Never would I have imagined a time when the entire country, let alone the world, would go into lockdown due to a health pandemic (I always thought we were too advanced for that). As the virus continued to spread a few months ago, lockdowns went into place, businesses started closing doors, and companies transitioned to work from home policies indefinitely, leading people to migrate home. But, where is “home” exactly? Interestingly enough, many people have elected to leave their city apartments and go back to their family / parents’ homes.

It’s an unprecedented time. I’m sure that parents never imagined a time the whole family would be living under the same roof again for an extended period of time. Families with children in college coming home as schools have closed and working professionals returning back to their childhood homes. Now the real question — are people happy about this?

And like many answers to open-ended questions, it depends. College students had their semesters abruptly disrupted, and I can’t imagine they are excited about leaving their freedom to move back into their parents’ home. But at the same time, it looks like many classes have transitioned online via video conference, and they have become “Pass / Fail,” so things have become somewhat easier for them as well.

Working professionals are working from home, and I can’t tell if this is good or bad. It’s nice not having to go into the office, but at the same time, hours blend between on the job and off.

But, overall, is this a good experience? I think yes.

I went home to my parents’ house for a period of time during the quarantine. At home awaited my parents (54 and 55 years old), two grandparents (84 and 86 years old), and my two older sisters (27 and 29 years old). A home with a total of 7 people, myself included (25 years old). Never would I have imagined a time where all of us would be living under one roof again.

Like many families, it has its challenges. The house can get noisy as you are trying to do work. It can feel crowded with so many people. I might have to fight over who gets to shower first in the bathroom I share, an issue that I wouldn’t have to deal with back in my apartment.

But, the positives outweigh the negatives. We all eat a nice homemade dinner together, laugh about random childhood memories, make jokes, and tease one another. I hang with my sisters in the basement watching random television shows into the late hours of the night. We sneak into the kitchen for late night snacks, but tiptoe to avoid waking my parents as if we were kids again. We play random pranks on one another, and of course, make fun of each other.

It’s crazy to think that this is happening at this age. And the sad thing is, it probably won’t happen again.

I understand it is a scary time. We don’t know when quarantine will end and when lives will return back to normal. But as things return to a new normal, schools will resume and businesses will start operating again. And as things move toward a new normal, families will start separating again back to their own respective “homes.” And with that in mind, there might not be another time when the whole family is living together again. Enjoy it.