CLEVELAND — They're two different families with the same issue: managing the pandemic.
Tavorris Robinson, who has two kids, and Miriam Conner, a mother of three, shared with News 5’s Danita Harris what life has been like for them this year.
"Well, before the pandemic my family we were outgoing, getting outside, like to be active and do family things together,” Robinson said.
“We try to spend a lot of time together as a family and do a lot of family activities together,” Conner said.
But then coronavirus hit, and staying home became the new way of life, which exposed some things.
"I think like a lot of families, we found ourselves probably too busy,” Conner said. “I think we realized some of the things, we don't have to do some of these things. Some of these things were forced, taken away. And so it was like, you know what? This is better without all of these things."
“It did expose people's tolerance,” Robinson said. “The tolerance is being around each other for such a long period of time. I have a college age daughter and she's preparing to go away for school, the preparation for that I think created a lot of anxiety."
When asked about what word comes to mind when asked about remote learning, both parents agreed: “Challenging.”
“My daughter was stressed about it more than I thought she would be,” Conner said. “We just had to break it down. ‘Listen, it's not a big deal. Let's just look at what we have to do. Let's get organized, stay calm, it's all going to be fine.’ And she really did buy into that and follow my lead."
“You're getting a chance to see which ways your child learns best and even the little nuances — they're not paying attention, if there's a class/subject they have an issue with, and how they engage in class,” Robinson said.
Danita asked both parents how they’re maintaining their sanity.
“Can I say it on camera? A glass of wine,” Robinson said with a laugh. “Just know that it's temporary. I think that's the saving grace in the back of a lot of people's mind to keep sanity."
“I think just getting outside helps a lot,” Conner said. “Taking a walk. I like to watch mindless shows. You know, nothing that has big drama or anything to do with current politics or anything like that."
Robinson and Conner both shared their big takeaways from the year 2020.
“The way we impact each other,” Robinson said. “We're not just individual cars moving down the road. For your safety I need you to wear a mask, for my safety I need to wear a mask for you.”
“For me, it's just a really good reminder that we have the power to choose how we look at things,” Conner said. "It's okay to be mad, sad, frustrated whatever it is, but come back and let's find some positive things. Let's see how we're going to react to it and make this work."
