Quarantine isn’t all bad — some in Charlotte are living their best lives during COVID
Staying in used to be a reason to break from the norm, until COVID-19 made it the norm. Now we’re 12+ weeks into our stay-at-home life, plus some days.
School buildings are closed, while businesses in Charlotte are beginning to reopen in phases. Whether inside or outside, coronavirus is still on our minds.
Teaching went virtual along with happy hours, game nights and that itch to lay eyes on another human besides those refrigerator door huggers we call our quarantine mates.
Home is home — until the walls feel like they’re closing in, making privacy just as sought after as a bottle of hand sanitizer and toilet paper.
While we can all agree that the reason for the stay-at-home season flat-out stinks, there are those who can remain optimistic, understanding that an improved reality is on the other side of COVID-19.
Others are just better suited for this change of pace and are even thriving at home, Los Angeles Times recently reported. When the household shares that same kind of open-mindedness, the ability to bloom during the new normal becomes an authentic opportunity to seize the day.
Finding time for hobbies
David Dickson, 47, with his partner and 8-year-old Labrador named Zeus, have made the best of their quarantine. “We are both teachers, so we have enjoyed reaching out to students via Zoom,” said Dickson, a PE teacher for Cabarrus County Schools. “We have started walking the neighborhood [with the dog] for exercise. My partner, [Eric Bond], has started his own fairy garden business from home, and it’s really started to take off. Also, he does piano lessons as a part-time gig and has started a virtual piano studio.”
The self-proclaimed introvert said they’ve even learned a new skill by building a bar by their new pool, which David has landscaped himself. “We have been busy.”
Derek Ward, a 35-year-old husband and dad to a kindergartner, set foot back into his office in Charlotte recently for the first time since the stay-at-home orders were put in place. “Working from home was a blessing,” he said. “I was able to relax a bit more and focus my attention on working and developing my graphic designs [while growing even closer as a family, bonding over new TV shows, games and good food].”
Darrian Barnette, a 24-year-old art teacher in Cabarrus County who is in quarantine with her mom, grandmother and aunt, has had a hard time being separated from her family but found that the spare time has been beneficial. “My family is huge, and we are used to celebrating all holidays together. During this quarantine we have not been able to, so we have been struggling with that,” Barnette said. “But, while these things in my normal life have changed, I’ve been able to revisit an old normal in my life before teaching, which is painting. This quarantine has allowed me to grow my art business and sell some pretty cool paintings.”
Barnette, who owns DrbArtistry, paints quotes, portraits and geometric pet paintings. Through her artistic ability, she’s continuously inspired to keep encouraging others to get back to the things they love.
Forced to slow down
A lot of the things that the general public loves to do have been put on hold. Vacations have been postponed, sporting events have been canceled and some of the newest releases to movie theaters are being pushed back. Anyone with that spread-too-thin feeling is being forced to narrow down the options.
Options are being replaced with focus — and both are hot commodities right now.
Ray Clatterbuck, a 27-year-old sales manager for Super Coffee who works and resides in Charlotte with his roommate, still travels out of the state biweekly for work. “It’s hard to establish a routine when you’re living out of a suitcase every few weeks. During quarantine, I’ve had more time to relax, read, spend time with friends and loved ones (safely), learn new things like playing piano and just generally enjoy my free time instead of always rushing to the next thing,” Clatterbuck said.
“I look forward to things stabilizing again, but I think the world also benefited mentally from a break from high pace living and may take some new habits into their life of chasing to help them appreciate what they have more.”
Of course, that nesting-at-home feeling will, at some point, inevitably collide with the desire to enjoy summer as it’s meant to be: not stuck inside. FOMO will become a reality again, soon enough.
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 10:49 AM.
