I intended to write a post about the Olympics, but on the day of the closing ceremony, one of my children tested positive for COVID.
And in a few days, we all had it.
Thankfully, we are all previously vaccinated and have no other notable risk factors. We were never actually worried and didn’t have serious reactions, but we had to isolate and deal with it. Still, I am always looking for content, so here’s what I got out of it.
I’m out of the loop
I anecdotally knew that COVID was on the upswing: we had cases around daycare and lots of second-hand accounts. However, I didn’t hear about it in the news or social media much. Are we using Greek letters?
Maybe it’s good that COVID isn’t serious enough to be the biggest story. Maybe we all just want to pretend it isn’t happening. Probably I’m just not paying enough attention.
COVID still feels bad
In terms of illnesses, COVID is still weird. Cases can be anywhere from asymptomatic to lethal, but most of them are somewhere more than a cold but less than the flu.
I won’t recount the symptoms, but although I have certainly felt worse, I would certainly try harder to avoid COVID in the future.
As I was recovering, I did have an odd moment where I sort of forgot what it felt like to be healthy. I couldn’t tell if I was feeling chilly or if the A/C was too low. I wasn’t sure how often I used my handkerchief normally.
However, when I felt better, I definitely knew what that as.
Being sick is worse with dependents
It is very helpful when sickness is enough to be relieved of responsibilities other than recovering. However, two sick children certainly require at least as much (and typically, quite a bit more) attention than usual.
My best moment was playing a game I called “Sleeping Giant.” I put a pillow and blanket down on the living room floor, lay down, and let my children crawl over me. Fingers went up my nose, elbows jabbed my gut, hair got pulled, and more. However, that was some of the best peace I got during waking hours.
But still feels good?
And yet, it was a few days well spent with the family.
Weekdays are a sprint from wake-up to bedtime. Weekends can sometimes be even more busy with various engagements and errands. And when weekends aren’t already packed, I often feel like we need to fill the time.
Over the last few days, we literally could not. We couldn’t leave the house even if we wanted to, which we of course didn’t because we felt sick. We spent a lot of time together between just the living room and the kitchen just trying to make it through the day.
And we did. Other than “Sleeping Giant,” we engaged in plenty of dramatic play. We tidied up the toys a half-dozen times every day as everything came out over and over again. Depending on the game or moment, a lidded plastic cup turned into a pizza, a box of diapers, medicine, a teether, or actually just a container.
They say that parents should let children be bored sometimes, and we definitely found a second wind on the far side of boredom. As time washes away the feelings of illness, I suspect I’ll actually remember this past week quite fondly for all of the fun we had together.
Still, I’ll pass on wiping out the family with COVID again. Thanks.