'I got nothing done': COVID-19 isolation means good days and bad

Roxann Adams says it's time to talk about what's really going on during COVID-19 isolation. 

For her, that means confessing to days when nobody in her family gets out of their pyjamas. Meals don't really happen. And forget about homeschooling. 

"I napped and I grazed and I watched TV," said Adams, describing a recent day when she felt vulnerable and guilty. 

"I wasn't overly social. I didn't feel like FaceTiming people and really, I felt like I got nothing done. It gnawed at me the entire day."

It's a bold admission when social media is flush with photos of home-baked bread, gourmet meals and tips and tricks on how to conduct a family night of board games and crafts.

Adams said it all looks awesome. It also makes her feel like she's not "winning at quarantine."

She said there are times when it's more reassuring to hear from another parent, that their kid ate cake for supper or stayed up watching YouTube for way too many hours. 

'It feels like there's no end'

It's been more than two weeks since New Brunswick declared a state of emergency, effectively shutting down anything to do — not that anyone's free to go out and do it. 

‘Just trying to get by:’ Fredericton parents open up about crummy days in isolation with children

5 years ago

Duration 4:45

This Fredericton mother opened up on social media about having unproductive days at home with children. She said it’s fine for that to happen every other day as “all of us are just trying to get by as best we can.”

Then Thursday's announcement that schools are closed indefinitely, made it harder to deny that we're in this for the long haul. 

"It feels like there's no end," said Adams.

"If I knew that in two weeks this would be over and the world would continue as it had been, I would probably make myself a to-do list. Here's all of the things I want to fix in my house before I go back to work. But it's difficult for me, because we know there is no timeline."

Normally busy with her job in social work, plus running the house and minding two children, ages 15 and 10, Adams said she hopes to regain a sense of equilibrium.

"We're a very strong productive type of society. We see high production as being equal to success so when everything comes to a standstill, that makes you have to re-frame what success looks like to you," she said. 

We could show each other kindness, she said, by acknowledging that the road back to some kind of normal may not be even. 

"It's time to redefine what's winning at quarantine. Maybe winning at quarantine is acknowledging that there will be days that are great and there are days that won't be so great. And that is fine," said Adams.

"Today is a decent day, I've gotten some work done. I've done some crafting. I took a shower," she laughed. "I got dressed. So today is a good day."