Dear Friends,
Well, the bullet I’ve been dodging for over two years caught me. Seems like it is nailing a lot of folks these days. I can only speak for myself, but I got lazy. I was very, very pro-mask for the first 22 months, but when the restriction was lifted at work, I opted to go without it.
I could stretch the truth a bit and say I did it for my kids. Their ability to understand me has gone up tenfold since they have been able to see my mouth when I talk to them. There will be studies about this for a decade, I’m sure. In the younger grades, it is so important that they can see how we make words and sounds.
I must admit, though, it was really nice to not wear one for a while. I’ve been paying the price, though, for the last five days. Once I got used to not wearing a mask again, I really enjoyed the freedom of a bare face, and this is coming from someone who liked wearing a mask.
Either way, though, it got me.
Last week, my friend informed me that he had possibly been exposed and I should take a test. I put it off for a day and I shouldn’t have. I have felt kind of cruddy, off and on, for the last two months. I’ve had allergies like I’ve never had before. Who knows, maybe I’ve been carrying the crud and am some sort of super spreader. I don’t know. Probably not since no one around me had tested positive in those two months, but what do I know?
Friday night, though, I took a test just to rule it out. I was feeling a little run down, but after a week wrangling 30 second graders, I usually am pretty beat on Fridays. Bauhaus was supposed to play that night and I’m glad they canceled now because I would have blown off taking the test. Not because I wanted to be careless or infect anyone, but I probably wouldn’t have had time. Hindsight being 20/20, that is me being careless, though.
The test came back positive, and a ton of feelings rushed through me. Instantly, I felt a lot worse than I had been feeling. The power of stress and fear is strong. I’ve been working to avoid this bug for two years, as mentioned, and here it was staring me in the face. Seeing “Positive” come back in big red letters was somewhat horrifying.
Being vaxxed, though, and it good health, I rationally know I am not at serious risk, but for a bit there, I had a little pity party for myself. I also freaked out because I had just had dinner with my brother, Michael, Liam, Teresa, and Liam’s buddy, Lucas. I had exposed all of them, too.
The guilt was overwhelming. I thought of the kids at school who I had been close to (and probably where I got it from) on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Second grade teachers like me are constantly having to bend over and put their faces very close to their students to hear what they are saying clearly amidst all the other noise. I though of my friend, Rick, who I drove to the airport on Thursday.
I worried about who I could have given it to and then some.
Luckily, the kids tested negative and have continued to do so. I began my isolation and noticed that the aches and pains were definitely ratcheting up a few notches over the rest of Friday. Weird aches, too. Things that I wasn’t expecting. My elbow and shoulder joints, for example, had the strangest pains.
On Saturday, I flirted with a fever during most of the day, but it was nothing that a little cold medicine and ibuprofen couldn’t handle. I was super achy, though, and had a hard time getting comfortable. Thanks to the cold medicine, I was able to get a couple of decent night’s sleep over the weekend. This was a first since Rhondi left.
On Sunday, a cough started. It was pretty much exactly like they say to expect. It was a dry cough and felt a little bit like my chest was going to seize up, but that never happened. It only lasted into Monday and, as of Tuesday, I was able to take a deep breath without complication. Most of the time, though, I just felt like I had very little energy.
I’m glad I’m vaxxed. I know some people don’t agree with it and I respect their opinion, but I have to believe that Covid could have been much worse without it. I’ll never know for sure, though, and I’m not a doctor. All I know is that if my experience was even 25% of what others have had, I don’t want to go through that. I can live without having those types of weird aches and pains again.
To add a little fun to my day on Monday, Liam told me that our neighbors returned our dogs to us as they had gotten out. Without realizing it, Liam inadvertently left the dogs a small opening to escape, and they took advantage of it. He described it, though, as “a hole in our fence.” This alarmed me so I went out to investigate.
Before I walked outside, Liam said, “Be careful, I saw some wasps over there.”
I went around to the side of our house and saw what the issue was and as I was fixing it, I got stung by a fucking wasp on my right index finger. This was a new experience for me, as well. If you have had the displeasure of this, you know what I’m talking about, but I’m guessing many have not. Wasp stings hurt like a motherfucker.
My finger swelled up instantly and it hurt for about an hour. I looked up wasp stings and Covid on google and found no conclusive evidence that death was imminent, so I looked at remedies and one thing said to rub apple cider vinegar on the sting spot. It worked like a charm. I also iced, of course, and put on some Neosporin. Good as new by the next morning.
Hoping to be back to work today, but I’m not pushing it.
See you tomorrow.
Anyone who says it's just like the flu didn't have it. They had the flu. It's a whole new kind of sick.