When news of a deadly virus sweeping the world and heading to the U.S. became apparent in March 2020, it was clear that lives were going to be impacted profoundly, and change how we do even the most common things.

My husband, cat and I sheltered inside a rented house with plenty of space and continued our work online without disturbing one another. Not everyone was so lucky.

I wanted to know how families were adjusting to quarantine, but I also wasn’t comfortable going into a stranger’s home as the number of people infected by the COVID-19 increased.

Because of that, I decided to look at my own family members. In March, my cousin, Tara Silcott, and her three children Aubrey, Aiden and Adriel took shelter inside a three-bedroom, two-bath house with three other adults, Tara’s parents, Barbara and Mike Silcott, and Tara’s aunt, Julie Russell, my mother. This wasn’t new to them. This multigenerational family had been living together for years. Tara and her children have been living with their mother at their grandparents house on and off for their entire lives.

The difference was they were forced to stay indoors. No more school. No more parks. No more socializing with friends. Like so many other college students, Tara was forced to take her college courses to become an online licensed practical nurse, while also making sure her two oldest children, Aubrey and Aiden, took their elementary school classes online. The children shared one room with their mother, but found ways around sleeping in one room together. Adriel migrated to Julie Russell’s bed at night, and Aiden did the same with his grandmother, Barbara Silcott.

The loud noises of children spilled into every room of the house. Toys were spewed all over the living room floor. Children jumped up and down on beds and the couch. Temper tantrums ensued when they weren’t allowed to get things they wanted like snacks. When it got too loud, they were sometimes sent outside, where they played on a wobbly swing set that rose from the ground when Aubrey and Aiden pumped their legs too hard, reaching greater heights on the swings. They came up with their own games, branches in hand, running around in circles. The inground pool was their favorite place to be, and it was a place where Tara could study comfortably nearby. In the afternoon, they would go on their daily bike rides around the neighborhood. Tara Silcott trailed behind them on a scooter.

After two years living with her sister, my mother, Julie Russell, found a one bedroom apartment and moved out on May 14. This allowed Aiden and Adriel to finally get their own room that they shared. They each had a bed of their own. The walls were painted green and black letters were hung over the bed to spell each of their names. Tara glued plastic dinosaurs to green and orange canvases and hung them on the wall.