COVID hits home

On Friday afternoon, January 15, Mal and I decided to drive up to Temple to visit Nana and Pappy and spend the night. We stopped about 15 minutes outside of town for Mal to use the very nice Bell County Safety Rest Stop, at which time I messaged Nana that we were almost there.

When we arrived, Nana and Pappy were watching Chance while Ken and Sarah, who had just had lunch with my parents, were helping Hannah pack up her stuff to move out of the apartment of doom. Nana asked me, "Did you see my text?" Since I'd been driving, I had not.

Unbeknownst to Ken and Sarah, TJ had been exposed to COVID from a manager at work, and they'd called all of the employees in for rapid testing. He was positive.

We were in the house for maybe six minutes before I'd booked a hotel and we turned right around and left. Chance was having enough fun that he didn't really care, though Mal was pretty upset at first. Once he realized we'd be overnighting in a hotel, though. Malcolm perked right up.

He'd just gotten a new (to him) skateboard and was pleased to experiment.

Over the next week, several people started showing symptoms, and in end end, Hannah, Sarah, Kenzie's boyfriend, Mom (Nana) and Dad (Pappy) all tested positive for COVID. My dad hasn't had any symptoms; Sarah's have mimicked cedar fever except that she lost her sense of taste and smell; Tian probably got it but hasn't been tested, and same for Chance. Mom has had a cough, chapped lips, sore throat, cough, fatigue, chills, and some loss of taste and smell.

Last night, my dad took my mom to the hospital for tests, just because her oxygen had been in the low 90s for the most part, and she was just so tired. They were there for about 5 hours, then she was released.

It looks like my family is largely experiencing the mild version of this virus that will likely have killed half a million Americans by the end of the month. We're fortunate.

Mal and I seem to have gotten out in time; neither of us has had any symptoms whatsoever.

It looks like we might be plateauing on COVID as a country, but we're on what I would call a very high butte at this time. The vaccine has been in circulation for a few weeks, but distribution and administration is not the well-oiled machine of our ideals. Still, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel, even if that end is still months away.

I have been absolutely baffled in the past couple of months about the way some people are conducting their lives.

I have a friend who has basically not wanted her kids to wear masks at all this whole past year. She got a job in a nearby town and was happy to move because "They are just living their lives as if the virus doesn't exist." She was planning Halloween costumes and excited about "regular" trick-or-treating because "I just want my kids to have a normal childhood."

While I understand the impulse, in a way, this is NOT a "normal" time. We're living through it together. There are teaching opportunities all around.

We had a GREAT Halloween, even though it wasn't "regular."

Our city usually has trunk-or-treating, but instead had a drive-in movie and gave each person a goodie bag of movie snacks.

Whereas a "normal" holiday might have melted into Mal's memories, this was SPECIAL. He'll remember it.

Then when actual Halloween rolled around, we went to my parents' house and handed out candy to trick-or-treaters using remote control cars for distancing.

Kids loved it, parents loved it. Mal was a little frustrated that he couldn't keep up with demand, but ended up having a good time.

We've had several "not normal" little road trips this past year, where we went places we could sight-see outdoors, get take-out for consumption in parks, and just enjoy a change of scenery.

"Normal" would be nice, but I don't think that sugar-coating reality is great for your kids. Even Mal's birthday, which was NUTS, was fun. We rented a bounce-house and he had one friend (and any siblings) over every day for 3 days, and then his cousins came one day. 

Although Mal's certainly bought into the "2020 sucks!" stuff he's seen online, I don't think he'll look back on this past year as particularly terrible. McDonald's PlayPlace is probably what he misses most. We can't pretend away that it's just not open and available right now. But we CAN find alternatives, and I think we've done a pretty good job.

Then one of the rare times that an unschooling board slipped into "politics" (it was actually a question about chicken pox, which led to a discussion of vaccines, which led to a discussion about COVID), one lady responded: "It seems to be all a compliance drill. I haven't seen a pandemic at all. Less annual deaths than years past. No flu anymore. Seems like a mild flu replacement hyped up by the government and media and to what end I have no idea. We'll see." Uh. When I pointed out to her that "not seeing" a pandemic is hurtful to people who have dealt with it, lost family members, etc. she responded with this: "[W]e clearly have different perspectives. I don't think anyone's suffering should be the responsibility of others. I see health, healing, pain and suffering as each individual's personal journey through growth or stagnation. I believe there is covid and Corona viruses. I have seen the effects and know people effected. I see it as a cold or flu that can cause autoimmune attacking effects that cause blood clots to form and lack of cellular oxygen absorption. Did you know that Corona viruses have been around for several years and they were considered a cold or flu before event 201 when bill and melinda fence foundation decided its time to change our world and practiced and prepared for this current situation that changed the status of the prior/ past Corona virus to be a mass hysteria hype to give people a fear based motivation to do what they dictate? I choose a different path. I was simply offering an alternate perspective above. No harm done. No need for you to tell me what to believe. You do you and I'll do me. Let's agree to disagree. Blessings and peace to you!"

When I forwarded this to my best Vegas friend, my brief commentary included so many expletives that she thought my phone had been hacked! But, really... I can't even begin to go into all of the levels of wrong in her missive. And I can't imagine living a life in which you don't feel some responsibility to alleviate the suffering of others, if it's within your power to do so. I'm just flummoxed by this outlook. Clearly.

We're not the folks who have literally stayed in their homes since March (there are those people, and I sympathize with them, especially if they are or live with vulnerable people). When the weather is nice, James goes out to breakfast on Sunday morning and eats on the restaurant's patio. We've eaten at places like Mandola's and Lucy's and Hat Creek Burgers, where they have outdoor dining and a playground. Mal and I go to the lake multiple times a month. We've even started going back to Urban Air, as they seem to be doing a great job with their COVID protocols. 

He's seriously the only child on this entire playscape.

As I mentioned, we've gone on a few adventures. We've gone to non-essential stores like Hobby Lobby or Bricks and Minifigs. We're cautious but not scared. We're living our lives in the balance between safety and joy. 

I understand that other people have different risk tolerances than I do, but was still shocked this weekend to see that the community theater in which I was involved has had a couple of shows this season already and is planning two more, then a big musical in June. They do seem to require masks in the audience, and are spacing seating. They also offer streaming tickets to folks who aren't comfortable with being in the theater. But the actors aren't distanced or wearing masks! And I know many of the actors; they have families! 

It might be a geopolitical thing: where I live now is more liberal, and therefore more serious about public health with regards to COVID. I was going to say that maybe they're not having the same virus load we are, but just compared their positive tests to population and it's very similar. In fact, on January 22, their new cases were .06% of their county's population, whereas here, our new cases are .056%. 

My church hasn't met in almost a year. I guarantee that we won't until all people have had a chance to be vaccinated. We don't go to movies. We have eaten inside of a restaurant twice since the pandemic started, and it was early on. Now that the growing percentage of cases are from a more contagious strain? We'll just take it easy until we can get our jabs.

Seeing that people have been back in church since the spring, that their kids are in school, and that life is pretty much proceeding as per usual for so many is something around which I simply cannot wrap my head. 

We're so close. I don't want anyone else dying (or developing permanent tissue damage, or long-term symptoms).