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Update: Months After Covid 19 Lockdown, Life with Teenage Boys


While some of us struggle with the worldwide Covid 19 lockdown, trying to either find peace eternally cohabiting with housemates or family members, there is a small fraction of people in this world who actually have no problems with it. 

They love being stuck at home because, apparently, everything's right here. Everything that makes them happy, secure, and deliriously entertained is right here. At home. And they don't have to go anywhere to find that state of happiness and comfort. 

I've heard differently from other people, though. Especially parents and my parents. 

Parents have to deal with both work and their kids at the same time, struggling to find the right balance and time to have that Zoom meeting. Elderly parents, like mine, are just itching to get out...anywhere. The silence, I guess, is louder and more frustrating when you're not only alone at home but when you're not allowed to go out, even if it's just to get a bottle of tomato sauce for your egg sandwich. 

My boys, actually, have turned into potatoes. Not the couch kind because we don't watch TV in this house. It's YouTube, games, internet, Discord chats (it's the WhatsApp for teen gamers), or Netflix (if at all). Getting them out of the house is a chore because over the months, they've become accustomed to staying at home and they're willing to do quite a fair bit to keep it that way. 

Now that classes are held over Zoom, they, literally, don't have to move a toe out of their rooms. 

I wonder why some teenagers report that they feel like they're missing out on their teenage lives. I feel like I don't have to worry about that. 

On the other hand, I DO feel kind of disconnected from the people around me, especially during the early days/weeks of the lockdown. Sure, I am accustomed to working from home (it's been 20 years!) but it's different when there's danger lurking on every door knob I touch. 

It's stifling. 

All those food delivery services have been heaven-sent, really, but I've also had to step up my cooking game a bit. I was trying to get back into the cooking app I was using (CookPad) but I can't seem to get back into it. So, I guess it's back to just simple blogging over here, then. Not that I've got fantastic pictures to show for it. 

It's always something simple that I can whip up in 40 to 60 minutes.


For the boys, I think they've picked up a couple of new things during the lockdown which are the importance of time and self-discipline. They're also required to help out more in the house when I go ape over everything that's compounding on top of one another. They also have to keep their rooms more organized after very frequent prodding from me (although sometimes...OK, most times, it's not successful and I wrestle with the urge to scream) and I realize that there aren't that many house skills that I've passed on to them. 

Really. I am shite at DIY stuff  to begin with although I've had to pick some things up myself (Thanks, Google and Youtube!) during the early days of Covid 19 lockdown. I guess it's a good thing. Can't say I like unclogging the sink any better than I did before, though. 

With the boys, we've also figured some really important things out by ourselves. Like photography and working our way around an e-Campus (WTF is that, even, right?). My son's photography lecturer really something else (ugh) and we really tried our best to get him through this class. Neither one of us are the photography kind of people but I've had a bit of experience in photographing products (my work in copywriting and eCommerce finally paid off?) so, after some pointers from me, his picture made it to the list of top pictures (for something) with this lecturer. 

Thank God and WooHoo! Bye bye, photography! #lol

As for the e-Campus thing, we've enrolled the younger one into his Comp Science foundation classes but we don't know how this whole online campus thing is supposed to work. We have to do everything from taking our own ID pictures to learning how to log into the damn thing's portal and email. My son, just for the sake of perspective, have no idea what Outlook is for. 

I am sure there will be more adventures ahead. I don't think my journey is as tough as those who have small children. 

We don't know how long this is going to go on, none of us do. But we're committed to do everything we can to stay safe and do what's right for us and everyone else around us. 

I hope you are too!

Happy Sunday!
XOXO,


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