I agree wholeheartedly with what you say! My parents live in a different state than my brother and I. This has been particularly difficult for my mother ~81, who lives alone but who is full of life and typically on the go all the time. She has post polio syndrome, bad arthritis in her hands, does not drive anymore, and had full time help (for transportation, shopping, lifting heavy items, cleaning and cooking), but her helper has not been to her house since this started other than to drop off groceries on the front porch. My mom has managed everything else on her own. She is incredibly tough, resourceful and resilient. She also has managed to stay connected to family using social media. DD26 is temporarily living about 45 mins away and has been to visit, but remained socially distant by sitting outside on my mother’s back deck while mom stayed inside her house with a screen door between them. My father, at 84, has the company of my stepmother, but misses his dear friends with whom he has met for lunch every Thursday for over thirty years. He misses his weekly penny poker game, and he misses his daily routine of getting out of the house to go to a local pool so he can swim. He has been picking up groceries curbside, and he drives to the post office instead of putting mail into the post box at the bottom of his driveway, so he has an excuse to get out of the house. He had double knee replacements two years ago, and has been more prone to falls, nevertheless, he goes out to walk everyday. My dad’s neighbor put a bench out on his lawn, near the road, so my dad can stop and rest if needed while on his walk. I like knowing there are nice people like that in the world!
Since I work with children, I would say my experience has been that tweens and teenagers have had the most difficult time with social distancing. Young children require time and attention, but have been less prone to creating stress or difficulty for their parents.
