Quarantine Routines: Traditions students’ families have started

Originally the family played the game on vacations during free time, but with an excess amount of time, they decided to add itWhether it’s taking two-hour long walks or constant family game nights, East students and their families have developed makeshift quarantine activities to help pass time. They’ve held firm on these routines to keep a schedule during an otherwise frantic time.

Scrolling through TikTok, senior Paige Lynch was inspired when she saw a family dressed in fancy attire to eat dinner. Her family decided to try the idea and dressed in their old prom dresses and sports attire for different themed dinners a few nights a week. 

Her favorite part about her themed dinners is having a reason to get out of pajamas, plus it gives her something to look forward to, making her quarantine life more interesting.

“It’s kind of made me come to terms with [quarantine] more because it’s mostly what you make of it,” Lynch said. “By having these different dinners and activities I think it makes it more fun so it doesn’t feel like such a burden to be in quarantine. It’s just a fun thing to do with your family.”

The Lynch family has had formal dinners like black tie — the men wore tuxedos and the women wore prom dresses — as well as more casual dinner themes like sports where everyone wears jerseys.

Another quarantine tradition has begun in junior Mac Muehlberger’s family — they’ve fallen into a routine of playing the card game “Spades” every night.

In addition to the game, Muehlberger and his family have fallen into a routine of waking up at 8:30 a.m., completing school work and then having free time. 

Muehlberger claims that having a set schedule for his day planned ahead of time helps him to stay focused on what he wants to do, making his days more productive. 

“Quarantining kind of sucks and it always will suck,” Muehlberger said. “But I must say, having a routine makes it a lot easier. So my view on it is if you have a routine, quarantine is a lot more bearable than if you don’t know what you’re doing.”