And then they all got COVID

Before I even get started, I feel a disclaimer is necessary.  I know the whole Covid topic is a touchy one.  Beyond polarized with opinions and lots of feelings.  I know people on all sides.  I know people who have lost loved ones to this virus from hell.  I have respect for them all and am certainly not here to argue about how we handled things.  As with all my posts, this is primarily for my memory keeping.  I choose to share what I choose to share with whom I choose to share it with.  All the details of life are never ever public information.  This is simply my experience mixed with my humor and my perspective and gratitude. Back to the post…

As we’ve all learned in the last year and a half- pandemics are hard.  Covid is the worst. For a multitude of reasons. Then right when you think it’s going to get better… it doesn’t.  Ugh.  And after a year and a half of avoiding the dreaded virus- it got to us.  Not exactly sure from where- and really- it doesn’t matter. 

 

Caroline reading to me from a distance.

One of my sweet get well cards

I got it first.  Again, not sure from where as no one I had been around was sick or got sick.  But, that’s covid for ya.  Once I realized what was going on, we did all the things you’re supposed to do.  The isolation and masks and sanitizing… but, alas, the day after I was out of my quarantine- Dave tested positive.  Disappointment abounded.  

Then a couple of kids started showing symptoms.  I mean- how could they avoid it at this point? So I loaded them up, found a drive thru testing site, and got all the kids tested too.  It took a 2 hour long line, a bribe of Chick-fil-a, and a very sweet nurse who gave us all popsicles out of pity… but they handled it pretty well.  You should’ve seen that nurse’s face when I said I had 6 kids with me and they all needed testing!  She said, “It’s ok!  We’ll treat your family like we did the baseball team last year.”  It worked.  And then 5 out of 6 came back positive.  Levi was pretty proud of himself… until the next day when he woke up with a fever and a cough.  Gotta love a false negative.  

Popsicles save the testing day

For the first time EVER- I had a sick husband plus 6 sick kids on my hands and we were quarantined from the world.  It was a lot.  I realized I had gotten better just in time for everyone else to crash and burn.  The worst of times- when it really all hit the fan- was the night Dave was having lots of intense symptoms at once and was absolutely miserable, Leah was on night 5 of not sleeping/cranky cries for hours, various kids were at various symptom levels and were all in my room for comfort’s sake, and the dog must’ve been feeling left out because she started vomiting.  All throughout the night.  Always on the carpet. 

As a person you get to the point where you must laugh to keep from crying at all that is happening around you.  And maybe you start singing “Another one bites the dust” to yourself too… because there’s always a song for everything.  

I eventually lost all track of times and days and whether I’d brushed my teeth or put on deodorant.  Losing your smell and taste can do that to a person.  Covid did not bring out my best self.  

Day after day things got better as we counted down the 3 weeks of no fun quarantine. (Side note: all at once was way better than doing this one at a time! That’d add up to 80 days of quarantine and I would not handle it well whatsoever) The physical ups and downs were rivaled by the emotional.  The mourning of canceled summer plans we had been looking forward to.  The sheer disappointment.  The pity parties.  The stir crazy of too much time in the house and with each other and can’t we play one game without a fight? We watched the movies and the shows and played the games and did the puzzles.  As we got better we cleaned the house, did all the laundry, organized the closets… until all the house things got really old.  Thankfully, our quarantine time ended the day before school started.  We were all so ready for it!!  I felt a tad bad for the teachers getting a pack of kids coming off absolutely no schedule or routine and way way way too much screen time.  But, survival mode is what it is.  And normalcy is the quickest way out. 

To no one’s surprise, this crazy virus affected each of us differently.  Dave had it the worst.  I don’t recall ever seeing him so sick.  Some kids never showed symptoms, some were just extra tired, and some had coughs and fevers.  Leah was our biggest concern, but she handled it like a champ.  Definitely not a great week, but so much better than expected.  I had terrible headaches off and on for 10 days.  In the grand scheme of things, we were all mild cases and just had to ride it out.  

What it looked like here for 10 days

The biggest silver lining of this covid case- was the kindness shown by others.  I’ve said it a billion times- and I’ll keep saying it.  We are so blessed and so grateful for our support system.  They are THE BEST!!!  The people have changed throughout the years, but the actions have not.  The texts and calls and prayers and check ins and food drop offs and door dashes were so very appreciated and much needed.  On the craziest of days, I stopped to look around and realized- our people must believe cookies and balloons and flowers are the cure to covid.  Of course, that’s silly.  But they sure helped lift our spirits and entertain a pack of disappointed bored kids.  And their disappointed bored mom was ever so grateful.  

Now- here’s hoping there’s never ever a sequel to write.