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Posts Tagged ‘#COVID19’

Death by Questions

Last Monday, I tested positive for COVID-19. Today, I tested negative. YAY!

In those five days, I have been shown so much kindness and concern from all of you. Your text messages, phone calls, Facebook messages, and suggestions for binge-able Netflix shows and movies were so appreciated. And, my fantastic work friends were so thoughtful to send me a Shabbat dinner for tonight so that I didn’t have to cook. So many of you texted me daily to make sure I was still alive. I am really and truly feeling the love right now. 

But the questions… the endless stream of questions that came my way almost killed me. It’s hard to be peppered with questions and expected to answer coherently and in great detail while symptomatic, and trying to rest and recover. So, I did the only thing that made sense to me. I started to make a list of all the questions. Not the answers. Just the questions. So many questions.

I kid you because I love you all. And now that I’m on the mend, I’m declaring the question and answer period officially over.

The Kindest of Questions

  • How are you feeling?
  • Do you have a fever?
  • Are you coughing?
  • What are your symptoms?
  • When did the symptoms start?
  • How is everyone else in your house feeling?
  • What are their symptoms?
  • Did you have COVID before this?
  • Is it as bad as it was the last time?
  • Can I get you anything?
  • Do you want me to go grocery shopping for you?
  • Can I bring you some chicken noodle soup?
  • Are you taking medicine?
  • What are you taking?
  • Do you have any Vicks VapoRub?
  • Are you vaccinated and boosted?
  • Did you sleep?
  • Did you lose your sense of smell or taste?

Questions from the COVID-19 Detective Squad

  • Where do you think you got COVID?
  • Where have you traveled to lately?
  • Did you get it at the swim meet?
  • Do you think you picked it up when you went to Towson last week?
  • Were you feeling sick when you went for your colonoscopy?
  • Was anyone coughing around you?
  • Were masks required everywhere you went?
  • Were you wearing a mask?
  • Was anyone wearing a mask?
  • Was there a vaccination requirement?
  • Did you have to show proof of vaccination?
  • How long did you stay?
  • Were you around people who were exposed recently?
  • Who let the dogs out? (Just making sure you are still reading 🙂 )

Testing! Testing!

  • When did the symptoms start?
  • When did you take the test?
  • Was it a rapid test or a PCR test?
  • Are you going to ask for a PCR test?
  • Where did you get the home test?
  • Did you buy a test, or did you have one already?
  • Did you take another test?
  • How many tests are you going to take?
  • How accurate is the test?
  • Did the line show up right away?
  • Was the line dark or faint?
  • Are you sure there were two lines?
  • Did you wait the full 15 minutes?
  • When can you test again?
  • Do you need more tests?

Quarantine Questions

  • How long are you supposed to quarantine?
  • Are you self-isolating?
  • Is Scott feeling okay?
  • Did you call the doctor?
  • What did he say?
  • How long does the CDC recommend you self-isolate?
  • Did you do the proper contact tracing?
  • Did you let everyone know?

Personal Questions

  • Are you and Scott still sleeping in the same bed?
  • Where is he going to sleep?
  • Do you have a sofa bed?
  • Where is the dog sleeping?
  • Is the dog sick too?

Work Questions

  • Does your boss know?
  • Do your colleagues know?
  • Do the people in this Zoom meeting know?
  • What did the people at work say?
  • Are you working this week?
  • Can you take sick time?
  • Does anybody really know what time it is? 🙂

Even More Questions

  • Are the kids staying away from you?
  • Did they take a test?
  • Was it a home test or a PCR test?
  • Didn’t they have COVID this year already?
  • When did they have it?
  • How are they feeling?
  • Do they have any symptoms?
  • Are they still going out with their friends?
  • Do their friends know?
  • Do their friends’ parents know?

Questions from our Kids

  • Can you sit over there?
  • Can you not touch my food/breathe on me/come into my room?
  • Should I play water polo this spring?
  • Can you drive me back to college on Saturday?
  • What’s for dinner?

Did I Smell The Roses?

On March 12, 2020, me and 50 of my colleagues met in the back of our office. Our executive director had an announcement. The room is a nice size for meetings and eating our lunch, but when all of us are there, standing shoulder to shoulder, we fill it up.

When I think about it, this may not have been the best place to congregate during a global pandemic. Statistically speaking, at least one or two of us were likely exposed to the virus unknowingly.

But, I digress…

“We aren’t sure what is going on with this virus, but we want to be responsible. So, we want everyone to work from home until further notice. We don’t know how long it will be but go back to your desks, take what you think you might need for the next two weeks, and head on home. We will stay in touch,” said the man in charge.

That was seven months ago, but it seems like a lifetime. Since then, I adjusted to working from home, managed a full house since everyone was sent home, got furloughed, networked my ass off to find a job, and started a new job. And in the midst of all that I ate a lot of salmon for dinner, ran many loads of laundry, and cleaned out closets.

Did I stop to smell the roses during the lockdown? I’d like to think so. We bought fresh flowers every week to brighten up the place. Does that count?

I definitely did more than my typical number of jigsaw puzzles. We all sat down to dinner at the same time every night because we had nowhere else to be. Jenna taught me how to apply eye shadow since that is the only part of my face people will see while wearing a mask. Andrew was in charge of family movie nights. We played Cards Against Humanity with our teenage children – that was a fun night!

Looking back, I wish I had done more. This pandemic definitely gave me the gift of time with my family. But, it was still stressful. We didn’t know what we were dealing with and everything was scary. Something as mundane as grocery shopping was scary. Someone coughing nowhere near me was terrifying.

And not only was it stressful, but every day I tried to bring some small element of normalcy back into our lives without feeling guilty. I let the kids hang out with one or two friends on occasion. I forgot to put my mask on when I went to drop something off at a friend’s house.
I hugged my parents.

Did I stop and smell the roses? I hope so. I honestly can’t remember. All I can say is that in five years when Facebook memories remind me of the mask-wearing, social distancing, and family bonding, I can say I was grateful for our time together and I’m glad it’s over.

 

 

 

Thanks, Elton John

I had a dream last night that I was front and center at an Elton John concert. No one wore masks and no one was social-distancing. There was just fantastic music. Actually, he was playing just one song.

Don’t you know
I’m still standing better than I ever did
Looking like a true survivor, feeling like a little kid
And I’m still standing after all this time
Picking up the pieces of my life
Without you on my mind

I’m still standing
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
I’m still standing
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Maybe this is my new theme song. God knows I’ve been through a lot this year. I probably had COVID-19 back in March before we even knew what it was. I couldn’t get tested because I didn’t meet all the guidelines – no fever, no shortness of breath. Still, I was sick for over three weeks with a horrible cough, fatigue, and the most telling – losing my sense of taste. I know now that it was likely a lighter case of the virus. But, I was sicker than I’ve been in a long time.

I’m still standing
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

I was furloughed back in July and spent the better part of three months job hunting and collecting unemployment for the first time in my life. I spent most of my time networking, writing, applying, and interviewing. Rinse and repeat. I’ll say this – looking for a new job is no picnic in normal times. During a pandemic, it can seem like an eternity.

I’m still standing
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

Everyone in our household was affected by quarantine in different ways. Jenna had to leave college early and finish the semester from home. Andrew couldn’t hang out with his friends or play sports and had figure out how to go to school remotely. Both my husband and I were also working from home. We realized how much we missed the commutes we used to complain about all the time. But, they were a clean separation from work life and family. And while we love each other dearly, it wasn’t easy being on lockdown for so long. Our dog, Chloe, was the only one who loved every minute of it.

I’m still standing
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

It’s been an adjustment for all of us this year. Little things that we took for granted like going to our children’s activities to canceling vacations and sacrificing big events like bar mitzvahs and weddings all went by the wayside. Even now, we are still trying to figure out our comfort levels as we head into an uncertain winter season. Who will we let into our quarantine bubble? Are we comfortable eating indoors at restaurants? How will we spend the holidays? There is still much more ahead of us. But, we can pat ourselves on the back a little and remember…

We’re still standing
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)

 

 

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