Everyone is experiencing this pandemic in different ways. There are those of us who have lost our jobs or lost significant income, those of us who are trying to work “full-time” while parenting and homeschooling, and those of us who are experiencing other hardships.

Recently I’ve taken time to observe the ways in which my children are handling this crisis. I’ve seen an increased neediness (wanting to sleep with me again at night, needing more hugs, and being clingy) as well as some emotional outbursts. Maybe you relate?

Since the dust has settled and we have come to the realization that this will be a longer-term situation, I’ve noticed other changes in my kids that I find fascinating.

They take Naps

To understand what a big deal this is, you must know that my kids have always fought naps. From the time they were babes in arms they have pushed back against sleep like it was the worst possible thing to do. So imagine my shock to see my nap-phobic kids heading off to bed in the afternoon when they feel tired.

They have found coping skills

At times when emotions are high, my kids are falling back on positive coping skills to deal with their fear, anger and stress. A common sight these days is one of my kids in the bath, quietly playing with toys or reading a book. They’ll soak in there for a while taking much needed alone time (truth be told - so do I!!)

They want jobs to do

In our “regular life” my kids don’t have a lot of time for chores, except on weekends when we get them to clean their rooms or help outside (gardening in the summer and shoveling in the winter). Now that they’re following a much quieter schedule there has been time for daily chores. My daughter is the “tea maker” in the morning, and brings us tea in bed. My youngest has enjoyed learning how to vacuum and do a full load of laundry. They both LOVE helping in the kitchen, even if it’s hard for my control-freak self to allow flour all over the floor.

We have time

Our family has a lot of time right now. This has come at a financial cost, as as my husband and I are both unemployed. But the “silver lining” is an unlimited amount of time to live life in a way I’d never imagined possible.

My kids creep into our room in the morning and open the blinds for me (who needs alarm clocks when you don’t have a job?) We then spend up to an hour in bed watching what we call “The Wildlife Show” out our bedroom window. This show stars three bunnies who war over the food dropped from the bird feeder, an injured squirrel who is surviving despite all the odds, the many different species of birds that land in our ancient crab apple tree, and the neighbourhood evil villain - a white cat that tries to hunt all these creatures.

This is just one example of an activity that we couldn’t have found time for in our past life. Other activities include reading aloud, nature walks in our ravine, lots of biking and scootering and ample time to grow the best vegetable garden we’ll probably ever have!

Recently we watched the documentary “All the Time in the World” (a must-see if you are Canadian and a lover of the outdoors.) It’s about a Yukon family of five who make the decision to head out into the bush and live in a small cabin for nine months - no electricity, no running water, no watches and certainly no phones.

My kids were totally fascinated by the things the family accomplished in the bush, and we talked about how different their situation was from what we’re experiencing - yes, we are isolated, but still very much connected to the outside world through TV and internet.

There are marked similarities, though. The kids in the documentary are naturally creative and very resilient, and tended to learn and develop through play. I have seen this first-hand as my 10 and 7 year-old have spent hours in make believe games (many involving babies it seems).

This is not to say that we are in living in a fantasy land of familial harmony. The kids still fight, we each take turns having meltdowns, and like the family in “All the Time in the World” we get cabin fever when the weather is rotten. However, when I force myself to take time to observe, I can see the incredible silver linings this pandemic is having for our family. And that makes my heart happy.