Well the stay at home mandate certainly affects many people in the country.  We’ve all had to make sacrifices with layoffs, working at home, and no social gatherings. 

What I am going to talk about here is coping with Coronavirus and the impact on not seeing your family.  We are very lucky to have 2 healthy children and 4 grandchildren that live close to us.  For years we’ve had dinner together as a family every Sunday.  Unfortunately, we had to put these on hold.

My 11-year-old granddaughter has an auto immune condition and has been diagnosed with Chron’s disease.  It is imperative that her exposure to other people is kept to a minimum.  She has a technician come to her house once a month for her IGG infusion and once every 8 weeks she needs to go to the hospital for an infusion of Remicade.  A side effect of the drug treatments has been loss of hair which can be devastating to a young girl.  The good news is the medications are making her feel much better and she’s has more energy and an increased appetite.

But what about the emotional health of everyone.  My grandkids are used to seeing us, their uncles and aunts, and their cousins.  This loss of contact can be hard to manage. 

I have always been a problem solver.  My solution to coping with Coronavirus was to get together using a video conferencing platform and play games for a couple of hours.  We use Zoom Video Conferencing software which can be downloaded for free.  You can use it on an iPhone or Android device or a computer.  Each grandchild uses their Chromebook they use for school.  My wife and I use an iPad.  It’s better to use these devices if available because you can see everyone simultaneously.  On a smartphone, only the person who is talking will show up on your screen

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Now that I can see and speak to everyone, I’ve come up with a few games that work great.  Here are some of my favorites:

• Family Feud. I have my son’s family compete against my daughter’s family and I ask the questions.  My wife keeps track of the score and the first team to 200 wins.  I found these questions online and their geared for all ages.  https://wehavekids.com/parenting/Family-Feud-Questions-for-Kids

• Charades.  This is always fun.  Watching the grand kids act out the answer makes everyone laugh and chime in with their comments.  They kids range from 11 to 7 years old and all of them like to participate.  Our youngest granddaughter who is 7 came up with the list of activities we used last Sunday.  Everyone had a great laugh at her imagination.

• Monopoly.  We pointed an iPhone at the board and everyone could see the properties and pieces.  My wife rolled the dice and managed the money for all players.  They simply told us if they wanted to buy the properties.  Monopoly is a great game that’s time honored while teaching counting money and making decisions. 

I’m sure there are other games you can play that will help you cope with Coronavirus.  Please leave a comment sharing your ideas on other games that can be used. 

While we’re missing the hugs, we’re grateful we can still see and talk to each other as a family.

Stay Healthy and Safe

Glenn