As America enters the unofficial fourth week of social distancing and life as we once knew it a slightly distant memory, the quest to make memories kicks into high gear.
This pandemic is something that all of us, unless you count the few centenarians who recall the Spanish Flu of 1918, have never seen before. Hopefully, nothing like this will happen again in our lifetime.
Any way you look at it, we are living an episode in history that affects every fabric of life, from recreation and education to working, worshiping and daily doings. While it might seem like a huge inconvenience to sit back, relax (really, take it easy as long as circumstances allow) and ride out this storm, we should use this time to remember it all.
Social media posts tout many ways for families to record this time of uncertainty and concern. One way, of course, is to document everyone’s thoughts and feelings in the form of a video, diary, journal or essay. My daughter’s Honors English teacher has given her students an assignment to do just that. They can share their thoughts and feelings about the coronavirus pandemic and what they have been doing since school closed March 12, 2020 (my children had days off March 13 and 16).
Two other ideas that caught my eye on social media include handprints. The first requires each family member to trace his or her hand on colored paper, then place the tracings together from smallest to largest in a shadow box. Another involves making salt dough. Each person places his or her handprint into the dough. The formation is then baked the formation in the oven at 180 degrees. Families can paint the handprints and decorate as they wish. It can include the words “Our Family Lockdown 2020” with names as well.
There are always photos, scrapbooks and other artwork to do to capture memories made during this pandemic. Pick your color schemes and themes and run with them. Make it fun for everyone.
Try making a time capsule. Among suggested items to include, newspaper clippings of local, national and world stories about the coronavirus, a copy of a school district letter detailing online instruction, a grocery store or gas purchase receipt and, for a chuckle, the wrapping of a coveted roll of toilet paper.
This first quarter of this new year, this new decade has definitely thrown us all for a loop. We might want to forget the parts of it we’ve lost, but we should remember what we’ve gained and experienced as we adjust to a new and temporary normal.
The mom of a dancing teen and a tween who enjoys scouting and hockey, Katie Campomizzi-Clews is a copy editor at The Republican-Herald. She began her career at The RH as a staff writer following graduation from Lycoming College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication with a minor in psychology. She shares her experiences of balancing work and parenting and takes a look at issues, events and trends concerning parents and children.
