Feels odd writing this, but for me, being able to defy this was a positive consequence of the pandemic.
I lived alone after I finished college and started working. 3.5 years later this whole pandemic things starts. I ended up moving back home for 2 years because my job went full remote. My siblings and brother-in-law (sister's husband) joined as well.
I love visiting my family but after a couple weeks, I feel like a kid again and start acting like one. Asking for dinner, sneaking out to smoke, staying up late watching cable TV. Any extended amount of time feels unhealthy.
But now that they're about to start getting actually old, I want to visit constantly because nothing is forever.
If I'm being honest, my parents had an enormous house, so we all got our own rooms and there was still an office space available. They sold it after we all moved out again.
We all made a tremendous effort to stay adults regarding keeping the place in order and cooking. We'd cycle dinner prep through all of us based on work schedules. It was interesting, and since all of our collective friends took lockdown extra seriously, there really was no one to go see.
My parents are in their early 50s, so they're definitely not young anymore, but they're still some time away from something I'd consider "actually old", but my definition may be a bit skewed because 3 of 4 of my grandparents are still with us and 2 of them have a clean bill of outside of being in their late 70s.
I had a fantastic home life growing up so it was a no-brainer. Very much a "how am I supposed to have my rebellious teenage phase if you keep supporting me" kind of experience.
My heart goes out to the people who had to do it out of necessity rather than choice.
I lived alone after I finished college and started working. 3.5 years later this whole pandemic things starts. I ended up moving back home for 2 years because my job went full remote. My siblings and brother-in-law (sister's husband) joined as well.
It was surreal living together again as adults.