The "Rona" and Me - A story of triumph over a challenging start

How this late “catch” inspired my New Year

I usually take the last couple of weeks of the year off from work and business to be with the ones that matter the most to me. This year was no exception.

My out-of-office was set a week in advance, holiday notices went out to clients, and a few others I called to wish well for the new year.

Ordinary. Routine. Yet, comforted by this annual tradition.

Believe it or not, our two teenage boys don’t mind being around us for extended periods. Given that they’re both pretty cool kids, we don’t mind being around them either. So, we ordered in, Netflixed, and chilled.

Christmas Eve comes and with it a few sneezes. Now a cough followed by a sad face. It’s my oldest son. He complained of a headache, body aches, and unsettled stomach. He felt warm so I immediately took his temperature. Uh-oh, now add fever to the list. Not looking good.

We pulled out the dreaded antigen test, went through the steps, and waited 15 minutes. Yep, COVID. On Christmas Eve! Now he’s quarantined to his room for the next 5 days.

We made the best of it though. We put his gifts by his door, logged onto Zoom from downstairs Christmas morning, and opened our gifts ‘together.’ We even had breakfast ‘together’ by placing my laptop of him on Zoom at his place setting. Curveball hit out of the park.

Christmas evening, my younger son’s asthma made an untimely return. This one required a rescue inhaler and a couple of nebulizer treatments. By 1:00 am he was still in distress, so hubby took him to the emergency room. By 2:00 am he called with a diagnosis… it was a virus infection that triggered his asthma, but now he too has COVID. Uggh!! Another one has to be quarantined to his room.

The next day hubby and I tag-teamed meals, kitchen-to-room deliveries, and nebulizer treatments. Some holiday break I’m having. But I remained in good spirits.

We get to that evening. I’m feeling a little run down. I think it’s due to the first-class concierge service we gave the boys the past day and a half. However, tiredness has never come with body aches before. I had this strange feeling.

I marched myself to the bathroom, pulled out another antigen test… yeah, COVID. Bedroom #3 is now a quarantine zone.

For 3 years we each evaded capture of this pervasive virus. This week 3 out of 4 got caught for the first time.

I have to hand it to my Husband of the Year. After making the trip to get every type of Lysol spray, antibacterial wipe, bleach-based cleanser, and N95 masks he could find, he dug in deep. He cleaned, disinfected, and cooked 3 square meals a day for the 3 of us through New Year’s Eve. He checked in on us from his mancave in the basement and sent encouraging text messages. Felt strange for all of us to be in the same house but only communicate through Zoom and our phones.

I’m now antsy, bored, and trapped.

I did say I wanted to take some downtime for myself. But never imagined it would come in the form of being quarantined. Well, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.

When I went into quarantine, I made sure to bring my laptop (and charger). Something about looking at the same four walls for days that reengaged my creativity, sparked ideation and tapped into my inner thoughts.

I started typing.

Hmm. I’m remembering an idea I had for a video. I type some more.

Ahh! Another idea for a marketing guide for small businesses. My fingers speed up.

Oooh! Here are those topics I saved to my phone earlier this year. Now, my keyboard sounds like a steady stream of hail hitting the window.

Before long, I developed: