The worldwide pandemic, known as the Coronavirus, is very dangerous and having negative impacts on children of divorced parents. Kids from families that are not divorced might also be feeling a different sort of loss. Many kids grow up in families that have one or both parents working many hours. Suddenly, their parents are home more and they are enjoying spending more time together. These kids could also have many emotions or feelings about the time they have missed with their mom or dad in the past, before this virus.

My family fills a very important place in my life. My friends are important, but family has always had the most important place in my heart. The pandemic has made me feel this void with my family.

My parents are divorced and live an hour away from each other, so this pandemic feels like it makes it harder than it already is to see my parents, and especially my dad. What I thought might be a nice early start to my spring break has now turned into an early summer break. This is not how I would expect my break to be. Since we have had the order to stay home, I have not been able to go to my dad’s house on my regular weekends.

One thing that is very important to me is my relationships. During the quarantine, I don’t feel like I have had the same relationships with my friends. It is not as easy to talk through social media, and some of my friendships are broken because I can’t connect the same way, but I am still trying to make the best of it and see the positive. We are blessed with the gift of technology, so I can stay connected to my family and friends with FaceTime conversations and play games together online if they have it. I am also now in school full-time online.

Learning to do my schoolwork from home has encouraged me to work better with my teachers and has improved my communication with teachers I struggled with during regular school time. I appreciate the classroom time with them in a new way. I am grateful I attend a small private school in my town, because they have a little more time to help all of us make our school days feel “normal.”

Part of what helps me feel normal is sports. I am looking forward to playing sports and seeing my teammates. My baseball season and track practices were just starting, but now those are on hold. I love to see my teammates and work on my skills. Being on a sports team makes my life whole. My team is like family. I feel like there is a hole in my life without this activity and the motivation it gives me personally.

In a world where this pandemic COVID-19 is our new reality, I have found a few good things. I am getting to hang out with my older brothers and a few close family friends. We are learning more about each other because we have to be together with less distractions. This would be even harder for me if I was an only child. I can’t wait to get back to normal and hug my cousins, visit my friends in person, go to youth group, and play sports with my teammates again. This pandemic has made me more thankful for my large family and good health. I really miss the “normal” things.

—Landon

Share your own story here. Sharing stories is a powerful way to connect with other people. Be part of the Teen Health & Wellness Personal Story Project—like Landon did above—and share your story about successfully dealing with or overcoming a challenge.