For nearly a year we’ve been encouraged to isolate, social distance, and stay away from healthy friends and family for the sake of flattening the curve. We’ve been living in fear, and I often find myself straight up unsure of what actually is the right, responsible way to think about all the different aspects of living in a pandemic.
One thing I know for sure? Neighboring cannot stop.
Even in fear. Even when people have locked their doors. Neighboring has to continue.
One way to neighbor well even when people have “quarantine” emblazoned on their hearts, is not to shy away from being available when our neighbors, friends, and family actually get COVID.
Contrary to what we’ve heard recommended, people with COVID actually still need support. And there are safe ways to do it without compromising your own health.
If a friend or neighbor’s family comes down with COVID, especially dads/moms with toddlers, y’all, let’s not live in fear, let’s advocate for these families.
Don’t leave them alone. Use your imagination. Love your neighbor. Serve them.
Our family came down with COVID after Thanksgiving (me, Jake and my parents, but not the kids—read more about our experience in my last blog post), so we know first hand how meaningful these acts of service were to our own recovery!
5 ways to neighbor well when someone you know gets COVID (especially if they’re quarantined with COVID and toddlers!).
1. Drop off meals.
This might seem the obvious way to care for people when they’re sick, but it made even more of a difference with this sickness. Jake and I lost our taste, and with little energy, cooking was the furthest thing from my mind. But our appetite didn’t stop, we still needed to eat, and we still needed healthy food flooding our bodies—not to mention, we had almost 3 year old mouths to feed!
Even though I kept meals simple and used the frozen ones stocked and patiently waiting in the freezer, the friends who dropped off meals just added a level of rest because I literally didn’t have to think about anything.
Check out this list from Pinch of Yum about meals to drop off if you need some fresh ideas!
Offer to pick up groceries! Hint* If they say no, pick up some staples and leave them regardless. Things like OJ, premade chicken noodle soup, fresh fruit, healthy snacks for the kids (pretzels, fruit leathers, applesauce) and leave them on the doorstep with a quick text saying “delivery!”
2. Prep a pre-set activity or hand me down toy for the kids!
Print off an activity packet (available online from brilliant insta mamas @littleoneslearn, @chickadeeswoodentoys) and leave it on the doorstep with do-a-dot markers or dot stickers for your friend’s toddlers, thereby equipping her with minutes of silence.
Stop by the dollar bins at Target and buy some pre-packaged crafts or puzzles for the kids to do. Again, thereby equipping the COVID-ridden parents with minutes to recoup emotional and physical energy.
We had a friend drop off a hand me down set of Lincoln logs, she’s basically Santa! Wrapped and everything. This was an inviting challenge for the kids and a welcome “newness” in a week when such newness went a long way to earn attention from 2 year olds.
3. Pick up laundry.
Depending on how you feel about how the virus is contracted, you may or may not feel comfortable with this act of service. But if laundry doesn’t scare you, this was an incredible blessing for our family.
My aunt (who had already had COVID) all but insisted on doing our laundry. I resisted for a while, but being 7 months pregnant and having quite a trek to accomplish laundry (through the carport, outside, and into the cellar basement) I eventually conceded. I piled everything in a giant duffle bag and she took it away to tackle at her own house. She brought it back the next day beautifully folded and fresh.
In hindsight, I realized in my necessary quest for rest, I would have neglected the laundry and left it to pile up…thereby making more work for myself when I finally had the gumption to do laundry or we ran out of undies. So trusting that my aunt meant she wanted to help in this way and letting her, was a huge win. For all of us. It sounded difficult, inconvenient for sure, sending her home with our dirty laundry, but I don’t think it was all that hard for anyone. Plus, her actions gave her superhero status.
4. FaceTime dance parties
Offer a standing invitation to FaceTime and entertain your friend’s toddlers for a song or two. Then, let loose.
My sister and bro-in-law are champs at FaceTime dance parties. The kids prop the phone on the a shelf and command Alexa to play “Freeze Dance” by the Kiboomers. Then the healthy young adults on the other end get to boost their endorphins and log aunt/uncle minutes while the toddlers in my home get their wiggles and giggles out.
It’s a perfect solution for those 3-4 minute stretches your friend may need to accomplish something or, let’s be real, sit quietly in the bathroom without fear the kids will need something.
If she doesn’t send out an SOS text, just pick an afternoon…around 4:30…and call anyway!
5. Vitamin C deliveries
Our neighbors and kid’s friends, wrote “we miss you” notes and parachuted Clementines over the fence. Adorable. Cost effective. Easy. And quite helpful.
Package up and share some immune boosting powerhouses you may have lying around to leave with your neighbors. Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, anything you’ve got handy that you can pop in a quick ziplock and share. If the sick neighbors feel better seeing you pour the vitamins out of the jar and into a baggie, nominate yourself the block apothecary and bring the bottles over to their home. Then you can package them up on their doorstep or in front of a window. ;)
Now, chances are, neighbors who test positive may not come right out and say it.
You’ll likely hear through the grapevine how someone is getting a test or needing to quarantine and then have to think quick about how to come alongside the neighbors who are sick.
But what better way to love our neighbors than showing up when they’re in the thick of COVID symptoms and likely to be experiencing loneliness and anxiety.
The lesson in all of this, is the better we know our neighbors and what they’re going through, the easier it is to come alongside them when they actually need it.
It’s a huge task. And a huge undertaking.
But one that actually makes a difference.
Time to rally, y’all. <3