Seattle-Area Families Support Their Neighbors and Spread Kindness During Quarantine

“It’s OK if you ate all your snacks <3”
 
Kippy DePina’s neighbors in Queen Anne had a laugh over her chalk message about the stay-at-home order.
 
“I got up one morning and I was feeling kind of blue. So what can I make for my sidewalk sign that can just make people smile and be an encouragement?” DePina said. “The trigger was it was April 4 and I knew the governor had extended it to May 4. That’s a month! It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay.”
 
DePina is the mother of four: ages 16, 19, 21 and 27, three of whom are home now (one had to come home from college). What’s it like having a full house? “It’s been interesting for my poor wifi,” she said.

It means lots of data with everyone home — and lots of snacks. She’s got the normal stuff like chips; gummies are a hot commodity and she’s been baking a lot of cookies.
 
“You’d think I was feeding toddlers, but I'm feeding big kids,” said DePina, a preschool teacher. “They like the same things, especially in a pandemic.”