Covid-19 Though My Eyes Pt. 3 – “Family Quarantine”Family Quarantine:

Finding the positives in life

Covid-19 Though My Eyes Pt. 3 – “Family Quarantine”Family Quarantine:

While my writings previously focused mainly on negative aspects of Covid-19, health risks, lockdowns and mandates, there were also several highly positive points. Specifically, these positives involved time spent with family, as well as a close inner circle of friends.      

Almost immediately following the initial decree that the country would lockdown for “2 WEEKS TO SLOW THE SPREAD,” our two daughters and their families came home to Ginger Hill to quarantine with us on our family ranch, in the rolling foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. My oldest daughter, Amanda, and her husband, Matt, are attorneys and were living outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They were instructed to work remotely. Their two-year-old daughter’s daycare closed, and they needed family members to help care Louisa while working remotely. They also wanted to get out of Philadelphia area and avoid the highly restrictive and authoritarian lockdown rules instituted by the governor of Pennsylvania.

My daughter, Ella, her husband, Joe, and their six-month-old daughter, Katherine, moved home from Arizona as well. Major League Baseball had also suspended spring training “temporarily” for two weeks. Ann and I were ecstatic to have our two daughters and their families spend extended time with us. Ella provided loving daycare for the girls while Amanda and Matt worked remotely, and Joe continued to train for the eventual return of baseball.  I also benefitted from suddenly having more than enough help on the ranch! I think most of the family (not me) was a little nervous about the dynamics of having so many people under one roof.  As the “two-weeks” turned into months, we settled into our routines, got to know each other better and developed closer bonds; our love and respect for one another grew stronger.  I enjoyed precious time with my granddaughters, and they benefitted from socializing with each other (something that so many children were deprived of during the school closures and lockdowns).  Instead of being cooped up inside, the girls were checking cows with Poppa (me), birdwatching with Gigi (Ann), playing in the creek, and picking flowers in the pasture. 

As most gyms were forced to close, and we are a fitness-focused family, we started doing CrossFit WODS (workouts of the day) at home many evenings.  The ladies also prepared healthy and delicious meals that we frequently enjoyed with a glass of wine on the patio or side porch. The sunset views were breathtaking, made even more beautiful by thoughtful conversations and company. We celebrated a few birthdays together with homemade cakes (decorated by Louisa).  Ordinary days were made special by visits from my son, Henry, and his fiancé, Libby, who would join us for taco nights, picnics by the creek, and game nights.  Life slowed down, and it was wonderful.

I often empathize with city-dwellers that were locked up in small apartments with nowhere to go and no one to connect with, while we quarantined of several hundred acres of Gods greatest creation, enjoying fresh air, sunshine and beautiful sunsets!  Our family was blessed with the opportunity to enjoy this time together, at home.

Quarantine Club, Birds of a Feather Flock Together:

During this stressful time when the world was inundated by propaganda, lockdowns, mandates, and sickness, a group of likeminded god and freedom loving friends decided to form an informal sort of social group that later we branded our “Quarantine Club”.  We all saw and realized that the highly political and authoritarian lockdowns were unconstitutional, ineffective in the fight against COVID-19, and tremendously harmful to our nation and its citizens.

During our conversations, we expressed our concerns that the official public health response and media driven propaganda was not about health, but a means of encouraging fear and promoting authoritarian control.  Being the god loving, freedom loving patriots that we are, our Quarantine group got together at one another’s homes whenever our schedules allowed.  We supported each other and tried to inject some sense of normalcy into each other’s lives. In doing so, we too developed strong lasting friendships and bonds.

Humans are social beings and removing social interaction is not only harmful one’s mental health but to our immune systems, physical health and well-being.  The impacts of loneliness and isolation on mortality are well documented.  Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at BYU, and colleagues conducted two meta-analysis studies which examined the link between loneliness, social isolation, and mortality[1].  Dr. Holt-Lunstad, et al., first published her findings in March 2015. The first meta-analysis, which included more than 300,000 adults across 148 studies, revealed that the risk of premature death was fifty percent (50%) lower for adults who had a greater connection with others, compared with those who were socially isolated. From the second meta-analysis, the researchers found that loneliness, social isolation, and living alone were all associated with an increased risk of early death.

While I was blessed to be surrounded by family and friends in my rural community, I acknowledge that many citizens of the United States were living in solitude for months on end.  Among those were our nation’s elderly. 

I recall that in the Fall of 2020, one of our local nursing homes had a significant outbreak of COVID-19. Elderly patients near the end of their lives with multiple comorbidities were dying at an alarming rate. Most of these patients were experiencing severe vomiting and diarrheal illnesses. Not only were they very ill, they were also severely affected by loneliness and heartache. Their loved ones and families were not allowed in the facility and visitors were only allowed outside their windows, separated by a pane of glass.

If hospitalized, visitors were prohibited as well.  Many of our elderly veterans, community leaders, teachers, parents, and friends died alone.  Their families and loved ones were denied the opportunity to be with them before death and were also denied the ability to have traditional funeral and burial services.  While COVID-19 may have taken so many loved ones, it was government restrictions, policies and executive orders that stole their final moments with their families.

While the true cost and ripple effects of the executive orders, government mandates, and social propaganda encouraging lockdowns and “social distancing” will not be known for decades to come, it is apparent that the suffering endured had little effect on mitigating disease.  We must remember that we are stronger together.  I hope and pray that when faced with future government actions, policies, or recommendations of so-called “experts” attempting to isolate us from one another, or to censor our thoughts and communications in the name of “the greater good” we will fiercely resist.

“Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”—Benjamin Franklin

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[1]Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors For Mortality: a Meta-Analytic Review., J. Holt-Lunstad, T. B. Smith, M. Baker, T. Harris, D. Stephenson, March 11, 2015.