Elle’s Edit: What I’ve Learned Living With My Parents For 3 Months

Back in March, I never would have guessed I would be living with my parents for nearly 3 months.

Remember in March when we all assumed we needed to be home for maybe 2 weeks and then life would go back to normal? We all thought that being home for such a short period of time would get rid of this horrible illness/disease/pandemic whatever you want to call it. I remember packing up a few things from my desk and telling my coworkers I’ll see you probably in April. Well, it is June and the date to return to the office is still TBD and probably won’t be until January. Since I live in NYC, the news really became reality and by the end of March I knew this was not going to end anytime soon. My parents BEGGED me to go spend the next few weeks (L O L weeks) with them down in Florida because they didn’t want me alone in a 60 story high-rise apartment shared with hundreds of people. I kept telling them for days that I’m fine, as the last time I left my apartment was 10 days ago. They said…10 days…that is the problem, come home. I sound stupid typing this but it got to the point where I didn’t feel comfortable taking the elevator in my building to even go to the grocery store. I listened to my parents and went down to Florida on April 1st and I’m glad I did. My heart ached to leave NYC, the city that I love, to ride out the storm with my parents but I knew this was temporary and I would be back. WELL…. nearly 3 months later I am on my way back to the city and I couldn’t be more excited.

Over the past 3 months I learned a lot about myself and my family. Like any families, we had our moments where we clashed and didn’t get along but at the end of the day we all remembered we are in this together. Whenever I got into a tiff with my dad I would remind him that I’m frustrated that life is like this right now. I’m 27, back at “home” with my parents, missing my independence, haven’t seen my friends since March, and just don’t feel great about the world right now. I wasn’t asking for sympathy by any means but just to tell them that this isn’t my life right now. Don’t get me wrong, I am so incredibly grateful for the time I’ve had with my parents as I know I will likely never live with them for longer than 2 weeks when I’m on vacation again. They opened their “home” to me which they always remind me is my home too and made me feel comfortable in this space considering I was leaving my “home” behind. We’ve been through a lot this past year so the extra time is truly special and something that I will never forget and always cherish.

So what have I learned during this time at home? Well, I learned that my mom is the most kind, generous, and warmest person I have ever met. When I came down to Florida I saw her spend 5 hours a day in the guest room sewing masks for the nurses or her friends to wear. No one asked her to do this, she did it on her own. I learned that my father would drop anything to make me happy and he gives amazing advise. I learned that work isn’t everything. This past weekend was the first weekend where I did not work since December. I finally unplugged and told myself that all of this can wait until Monday. And let me tell you, it was amazing. Granted Monday morning did suck coming in with so many emails, which by the way people need to stop emailing people over the weekend, but I took a deep breath and got through it. And most importantly…I learned how short life is and how we should enjoy every moment of it. Sure we don’t want life to be like this but it is part of our story and our journey. You need to make the most out of it instead of saying let’s just speed past all of this. I’m going to end this post by saying…wear your damn masks to protect those people that you love. Do it for them. The ones that have taken care of you. Tell your friends to as well and tell them the more people that wear the mask the sooner we can go back to regular scheduled programing as I call it.

Have you been living back with your parents during quarantine?

Thanks for reading Elle’s Edit. If you have any topics that you would like for me to discuss, feel free to email me at elizabeth.lane.dooley@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you! xo