It was shaping up to be a memorable spring break for the Plavidal family—a getaway to New York would allow husband Chris and wife Penny to revisit the state they formerly called home while also touring universities with their 18-year-old twin sons, Hank and Joe. But as the looming threat of COVID-19 crept closer and closer to the U.S., the family read the writing on the walls. At the last second, Chris and Penny canceled their trip and took their sons and 12-year-old daughter, Roxie, to a cabin in Oklahoma, where they were hit with the realization that they wouldn’t be returning to the same old life in Texas. “We kind of went from a million miles an hour every day from sunup to sundown, to everything just screeching to a halt,” Penny says. “Our world got really small.”
As the family adjusted to their new normal, they shared the daily minutiae of quarantined life through social media. For Chris, a photographer, and Penny, a photo stylist and self-described chronic documenter, it was a natural—and needed—outlet, capturing creative projects, culinary experiments, and quiet moments on the porch.
Chris admits it can sometimes be difficult to see the big picture. But they’re choosing to see the silver lining, using this slow pace of life to focus on what’s important and deepen their bonds. “So many people don’t have the time to hang out with their kids like they do right now,” he says. “I think that can be positive from all of this.”
