The novel coronavirus pandemic has affected nearly every facet of daily life, and no more so than for families who have had to adapt to life without the regular routines of school, sports and other social engagements.

Public health orders aimed at keeping people at home to reduce the potential spread of COVID-19 started to roll out across the country in March. They were an attempt to flatten the curve of infections and allow time for health care centers to prepare for a possible surge in cases.

In Durango, schools were closed shortly thereafter, with classes moving online. In the weeks that followed, it became apparent students wouldn’t be able to return to classes this semester.

As a result, families, for the most part, have been locked together in isolation, perhaps spending more time together than ever before, changing relationship dynamics and bringing them closer.

Four families interviewed for this story said as much, divulging their journeys through the shutdown, a time where there has been challenges and happy surprises, hardships and silver linings.

David Devitre is an intensive-care unit doctor in Farmington, one of the hardest-hit regions in the country, so it wasn’t difficult to explain the dangers of the pandemic to the three boys in the family.

“We’re really aware of the horrible parts of what’s happening,” said Sarah Devitre, the boys’ mom.

The family has had honest talks about what’s happening in the world, adjusting the conversation for their children’s ages, which range from 6 to 11 years old. For 11-year-old, Dante, they even did a science fair project about how diseases spread.

“We are pretty upfront,” Sarah said. “They know their dad is gone a lot, and when he comes home, they can’t touch him until he does a five-step process.”

The hardest part, she said, is all the disappointment surrounding canceled hockey games, birthday parties and not being able to see friends. It’s even harder now that it’s summer, a time when the boys should be at day camps.

But surprisingly, there have been silver linings. Sarah said, for her family, they’ve come together in a way that wouldn’t have been possible with their normal routines of running around from one engagement to the next.

“We usually move at a pretty quick pace,” she said. “And now we’ve really slowed down, which has helped us realize what’s important.”

As parents, you always want to have answers for your children and assure them they’re safe, said Shanan Orndorff, who has three children ages 9 to 15. But with so many unknowns about this new virus, she said that’s not easy to accomplish.

“We had to get comfortable saying, ‘I don’t know,’” Shanan said. “The unknown and not being able to point to an end definitely makes it harder emotionally, for sure.”

The pandemic has caused increased levels of stress for her children, and the Orndorffs have found the best way to handle those tough moments is to emphasize, rather than enforce, the rules.

“We each melt down at different times, but what’s important is to recognize the emotion that all of us are having is probably not just about one thing,” she said. “So when we have a meltdown over math, it’s about a lot more than math.”

For Shanan and her husband, Douglas, the shutdown has been a time to reconnect, away from their normally busy daily lives. And their children, although at times at each other’s throats, have learned to rely on one another more.

“It’s been wonderful, in some ways, to wake up and not look at a calendar with 15 things on it,” Shanan said. “My job now, as a mother, is to keep my kids alive, fed and mentally well. That’s a goal I can meet.”

Kristen Smith’s 16-year-old son, Asher, has special needs, which has made the shutdown more difficult and isolating. Programs and other services for people with disabilities have been canceled or moved online, and children themselves are at higher risk and need to shelter more than others.

As a result, Kristen has taken over many of those duties, helping with online classes and physical therapy, all the while working full time.

“As parents with special-needs children, I think we all feel a little overwhelmed with the transition and taking on the roles of the huge team that helps with our son,” she said.

Her other child, Eden, is at the somewhat tumultuous age of 13, a time when kids are supposed to separate from their parents and learn how to become an independent adult in the world, she said.

“That’s hard to do when you’re stuck with your parents all day,” Kristen said.

Kristen allows her daughter to meet with small groups of friends, following social-distancing guidelines, but another added complication is that other families are sending different messages to their children.

“I try to teach my children to respect others and their opinions,” she said. “But it’s important for me to give the example that if rules are set, we need to respect that decision-making.”

But the family is making do, finding creative ways to fill the day with fun activities. They started a family badminton tournament, which has caught the attention of some sports-deprived neighbors, and even started a garden.

“Typically, we’re a busy, active family,” Kristen said. “We don’t sit in our backyard for hours on end, but now, it’s been a wonderful point of connection to put seeds in the ground and watch them grow.”

What do you do when your 11-year-old daughter is stuck at home, not coping with the isolation that comes with a pandemic shutdown?

You buy her a puppy.

“We send our kids to school for eight or nine hours a day, and socializing is important,” said Acasha Mick. “And our 11-year-old has not been handling it well, so we’re going so far as to get her a puppy so she has a friend, but also some responsibility.”

Both Acasha and her husband, Chris, are gone most of the day at work, and there’s an age gap between their youngest, Bonnie, and their two other children, ages 18 and 19, which has made it hard for her to occupy her time, or even take online classes.

“I wasn’t able to stay at home and home-school my daughter, and that really set her back,” Acasha said. “I just really feel like it spread the gap between kids who had parents who could work from home versus parents who had to be at work.”

But it’s not like the Smith household is quiet. Their 18-year-old daughter, AnnaBelle, had a child two weeks into the shutdown. Acasha said the scariest part was they were not allowed at the hospital for the birth, but now, all is well.

“The baby is happy and healthy and loud,” she said.

Like the other families interviewed, Acasha said the pandemic has caused everyone to come together like never before.

“We try to do a lot of family activities when we’re able to,” she said. “For our 11-year-old, as soon as we get home, we go outside and play, eat together and try to end her day on a more positive note.”

jromeo@durangoherald.com