Family By: Kaitlyn Cioc

 Family

    Family has always been extremely important to me, but since the coronavirus and quarantine were brought into my life, I've realized how much I've been taking for granted. Before the virus came to the United States, my family would get together relatively often. My grandparents on both sides, uncle and aunt, and cousins all have birthdays scattered throughout the year so if we weren't celebrating a birthday, it was usually a get-together at someone's house over the weekend, or a dinner together. In between hanging out, I would probably talk to some of my extended family a few times a week or every other week, never really paying attention since I would see them frequently. After corona hit and quarantine started, I realized I probably wouldn't see my family for a few weeks.

       Those few weeks turned into a few months and I started missing my family more and more. During quarantine, my sister and 6 year old cousin discovered their shared love for playing Minecraft and started FaceTiming and playing together. They became addicted to it and would call each other at least 4-5 times a week if not every day. Even though it felt like she did nothing besides being on her laptop all day, I realized it was good that she was able to connect with our extended family, and soon my family and my cousin's family would use their FaceTime call to check in on each other and say hi. Although we were able to get together with them outdoors over the summer, we still didn't see them as often as we used to so my sister and cousin continued to play together as much as they could. Now months later, they still call each other all the time and it's become routine for both of our families. I get to use her FaceTime call to talk to my younger cousin and uncle and aunt and it makes me feel like we're more together than just texting every now and then.

    FaceTime didn't only allow my family to connect with my cousin's. A few months ago I convinced my grandma (dad's side) to get an iPad. In the past she had always had an android tablet, and since neither of us really knew how to use Skype, we were limited to only talking on the phone. After her tablet began to shut down, I did research and found the perfect iPad for her and after giving her some information on apple products, she was hooked and bought one. We decided that once a week we would call each other to catch up and be able to see each other from our own homes, so Wednesday became my "call Nana and Papa" days. Since she's gotten the iPad we haven't lost our streak of calling each other every week and in my opinion, our bond has grown even closer. I get to see her and my grandpa and she gets to see me, my sister and my parents all the time. It's been much more fun and "real" than sending pictures and short messages through text. 

    When the holidays hit, I was very disappointed that we wouldn't all be able to celebrate at my house for Thanksgiving, my grandparents' house (dad's side) for Hanukkah, and my grandparents' house (mom's side) for Christmas. We came up with the idea of celebrating Thanksgiving a few weeks early, and my whole family came over to my house to have Thanksgiving dinner outside and allow all of the cousins to play together in the backyard. Although it was definitely different than our normal tradition, I was very grateful to be able to spend time with everyone, especially knowing how long it had been since we'd all been together and how long it could be until next time. Christmas, however, was different since it was too cold to celebrate outside. We all decided to do a Zoom present opening instead and a member from each family went to my grandparents' house to exchange all of the gifts. On Christmas Eve we called each other and were able to watch everyone open their presents and even though it was only an hour-long call and we didn't get to have dinner together, it was very special. We ended up doing the same for my 16th birthday since we can't throw a party yet, and it made me very happy to be able to see all of my family.               

    Quarantine has taught me how lucky I am to have the amazing family I have and to never take that for granted. Although I miss them all like crazy, we were able to find ways to be together without actually being together that made being separated a little bit better. I'm holding onto hope that corona cases will get better soon so we're able to get together in person, but calls, FaceTime, and texting will be our go-to alternative for now.  

2020 Zoom Christmas