Our Life Was Languid. Then My Daughter's Family Moved In.
When we lived in Italy some years ago, our family of four would sometimes visit a family of more — a married couple and nonna playing with her grandkids in the garden, an uncle with a mental disability, and the brother who never launched, all living in a modest house of weathered stone.
They argued without filter, finished each other’s stories, and each took a turn at cooking, cleaning or bringing money and food into the home. It was charming, particularly at the big afternoon meal on Sunday, and, we thought, anachronistic.
During the lockdown of 2020, our nest has been a quarantined family of six — our daughter and her husband, their twin 1-year old boys, my wife and myself. It’s been exhausting, kinetic, cramped, and one of the few consistent joys in this awful time.
But as it turns out, three generations living under one roof is not anachronistic; it’s the future. Or, more precisely, a past brought back to mainstream life. Two years ago, the Pew Research Center reported that 64 million Americans were living in multigenerational households — the highest number on record, and an increase of almost 70 percent from 1980.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/17/opinion/coronavirus-family.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
been great.
My wife and I were both laid off in late March/early April and together with our 4 and 2 year olds have had a pretty great time overall - a time that would have been impossible with our work schedules otherwise.
Being with the kids for this long at such a neat time in their lives has been a real blessing.
Don't mean to highjack, but figured this might be a thread upon which to share.
