Five years out, what is covid now?
Something We Catch
Well, it’s an illness people still get. Our last brush with covid as family was last March when Noah and I both got it. It was my second time and his first. Then in August, Beth and I somehow dodged it, despite being at a family reunion where there was an outbreak. (And other people, including more famous people, got it as well.)
4/2/2024
But we didn’t take this delightful-sounding outing. Remember how I said only two posts ago that I might not write about covid again? Silly me. Noah had started to feel mildly ill on Sunday, the day after North’s birthday, and I did, too, a day after that. I had a sore throat and some congestion. I might have had a slight fever on Tuesday—I don’t know because I didn’t take my temperature. The worst day was Wednesday, mainly because of intense fatigue. But I tested negative for covid Wednesday morning. We went ahead and went to family therapy, and when we mentioned both Noah and I had upper respiratory symptoms, the therapist immediately sent us home (per office policy, which we didn’t remember from our intake paperwork). I was already starting to feel better by Thursday.
On Friday morning, shortly before we were going to leave for St. Michael’s, North said if we were going to eat in an indoor restaurant, Noah should really test for covid, so he did… and he was positive. I followed suit and I was positive, too. Beth and North were negative. By this point, none of us was feeling very sick, but we decided to ditch the St. Michael’s trip and take our germs somewhere that was likely to be less crowded…
Over the next several days, we didn’t strictly isolate, but we tried to stay away from each other more than usual. Well, not all of us. Noah and I hung out in his room reading and we cooked a stir-fry together on Saturday, since we couldn’t infect each other. Also, as Beth and I were sharing a bedroom and breathing the same air all night long, I wasn’t that careful around her either. But we opened windows for air circulation and ate in separate rooms or outside. We masked on the occasions when all four of us came together to watch tv or to dye Easter eggs in the back yard.
7/23/2024
President Biden was in Rehoboth at the same time we were, recovering from covid and contemplating his political future. It makes me a little sad to think about that.
8/13/2024
We learned soon after waking that Jenny had tested positive for covid. That was sad because she’d have to stay at home for the rest of the reunion (she lives in town) and she really likes organizing activities…
The next morning, we found out another member of our party had covid. This time it was Gina, who’s the sister of Aine, Sean’s ex-wife. Gina had traveled from Ireland and couldn’t go home, so a couple people who were staying at the cabin decamped for Carole’s house so bedrooms could be re-arranged to allow Gina her own room where she would isolate. I did wonder at this point if a sing-along in a group of covid-exposed people had been the best idea, even in a spacious, high-ceilinged room, but what was done was done. From then on, I started spending a lot of time outside or in our room. I didn’t avoid other people completely— after all, seeing people is the point of a reunion—but I did try to avoid large groups inside and ate most of my meals outside…
As I was falling asleep, I noticed my throat was sore, but I was too sleepy to get up and take a covid test. I took a test on waking—negative…
We got back to the cabin and headed to the pool for a quick, last swim. We ran into Michael and Orla and their girls there and learned that Marjorie was the latest of us to fall ill with covid. I was mentally crossing my fingers that we could escape infection in day and a half we had left in Wheeling…
On Wednesday, four days after we got home, we learned that Carole and Santino both had covid, bringing the total to five attendees of the reunion.
Something to Prevent
Admittedly, we were not as cautious as we could have been at that reunion, but we do take steps to prevent covid or to make sure we don’t spread it, by testing when we feel ill, or in North’s case, by continuing to mask.
10/29/2024
In a less recreational but important errand, Beth, North, and I all got flu and covid shots on Thursday morning.
1/6/2025
The first two days we were home from the beach North was wiped out by a cold—they tested for covid, and it was negative—and they spent those days mostly in bed.
North is the only one of us who still masks regularly. We all masked at the performance of Deficiency last month because it was required, but it was the first time I’d worn a mask in many months. When we were coming home from some protest or another recently and the Metro was packed, Beth said we probably should have masked, but it’s just not something we think to do anymore.
Something to Remember
Covid has shaped our memories of the past half decade. It’s impossible to look back without considering its impact.
4/10/2024
That drove home how little of North’s time in high school is left (six and a half weeks because the seniors get out three weeks before everyone else). It started with covid and virtual school, and if you’ve been reading here a while you know all the twists and turns there have been along the way.
6/9/2024
Beth predicted ahead of time that covid would feature prominently in the speeches since this class had their first year of high school almost completely online. The principal spoke about that and about how their first year was his first year as principal of the school, and how it took a while for him to get to know their class. The student speaker quoted the song “Life is a Highway” and used it as a metaphor for their trip through their high school years, from the online ninth grade year through the masks, distancing, and limited extracurriculars of their sophomore year to the more open last two years.
7/9/2024
Noah and I went to Takoma’s Fourth of July parade. We used to go almost every year, but between covid cancellations (2020 and 2021) and travels (2022 and 2023) we haven’t been since 2019.
9/27/2024
We’ve been going to this music festival since Noah was a toddler, and we’ve been almost every year it’s been held since then, rain or shine. In fact, it was rainy the past two years (and cancelled for covid the two years before that) so we all appreciated that the weather was perfect—sunny, in the mid-seventies, and not a trace of humidity.
11/29/2024
Beth’s mom asked us to recount our most memorable Thanksgivings… Beth mentioned that she had a gallbladder attack, and we’ve had lice and covid on or very near Thanksgiving.
Something That Changed Us
Covid has also changed our rituals and the daily rhythm of our lives in big and small ways. First, it altered one of our yearly traditions.
10/29/2024
We have been going to the same farm stand since before the kids were born because it’s owned by the family of a friend of ours from college. Over the years we’ve added required stops to the itinerary—we’ve been eating dinner at the same restaurant since 2016 and we added two different parks during covid when we were all looking for outdoor activities. One is for strolling before dinner and the other is for eating dinner at the picnic tables.
I know I watch a lot more tv than I did pre-covid. I used to hardly watch it at all, and now I do almost every night. I always have several different shows going in combination with different family members. This has been fun, and I enjoy the family (or mother-child or couple) togetherness, but recently I’ve been wondering if I should cut back a little so I can read more.
Also, in terms of daily routines, Beth and I are both religious about taking a walk every day. I think she started in the summer or fall of 2020. I was already in the habit of a daily walk before covid hit, but it got longer (and then longer still when I was diagnosed with diabetes in the late summer of 2021). What had been a fifteen-minute stroll to make sure I got out of the house every day gradually stretched to about an hour. It’s something I enjoy and on days when it’s hard to get a walk in (because we’re traveling or something) I feel antsy not moving as much.
Beth also took up kayaking in the spring of 2021 and it’s become a hobby she really enjoys. She’s waiting for this year’s kayaking season to begin so she can try out her new fold-up kayak.
Probably the biggest change in our day-to-day life is that Beth and most of her co-workers still work remotely most of the time. She goes into the office roughly once a week these days, though it varies from week to week. This past week she went in two days in a row, and it felt strange not to have her in the house, which is funny because in the early days of covid, I had a lot of trouble adjusting to not having the house to myself five days a week while everyone else was at work or school. I don’t even want that anymore.
What is covid for you these days?