It has been hard for me to have social interactions without using Zoom or FaceTime, since the start of the stay at home order that Governor Laura Kelly issued for the whole state of Kansas. There have also been occasions where there is nothing left for me to do besides watching another episode of Brooklyn-Nine-Nine. However, my neighborhood decided to kick boredom to the curb and still stay connected during these hard times.

My neighborhood reached out to its members through its own Facebook page and through it came all of these fun activities for the community to do each week since the stay at home order. The first event that we had was a neighborhood scavenger hunt. Families in the neighborhood placed items in their yard for others to discover and the item would then be put on a list on the neighborhood Facebook page. The next event was a DIY Easter egg scavenger hunt. We had to create and decorate an egg display somewhere on our property so when people walk by they can try to spot them. I have seen eggs hanging from trees and bushes, cardboard egg cutouts in lawns and paintings of eggs on windows and doors. Right now my neighborhood is working on the details for a driveway tailgate. That is where everyone will eat in their driveways so everyone can see each other while still practicing social distancing. With this idea, there is a lot of room to grow and there are always new ideas for us to work on for the future.

Even though we are following the governor’s mandates concerning the coronavirus we are still finding ways to come together and to enjoy life. Whether it was finding something weird for people to find while on a scavenger hunt or painting an egg on our front door it was still a lot of fun and a great experience to have some engagement with my community and family.