Just because we are “done” with this pandemic doesn’t mean it’s done with us. After my week and a half of illness while taking care of a sick preschooler, my husband came home from his over-the-road driving assignment to take of us. Just kidding! He came home and got sick himself. So while I finally was well enough to do the two weeks of neglected laundry and household chores, he has been working his way through the rest of our stash of decongestants, cough drops and NyQuil.
Thankfully my school-aged child seemed to have dodged the bullet. She had no symptoms, but we still we tested her along with my husband. He was positive and she was negative. The school policy was for her to keep attending since she was A. Fully vaccinated B. Asymptomatic C. Tested negative and D. Wearing a mask indoors.
The schools are under tremendous pressure to both keep the kids and faculty safe and function “normally.” With Valentines Day coming up they had insane rules. 1. Turn in everything the week before so it could “sanitize” over the weekend. 2. All cards and snacks had to be unopened. 3. Everything needed to be enough for all 23 students. 4. Could you send extra cups? 5. Also, no candy.
I congratulated myself for completing the assignment. Two packs of unopened valentines, check. A sealed bag of 80 eight-ounce drink cups, check. A 24-count case of unsweetened applesauce with hearts on the packaging, check. Score for the non-PTO attending slacker mom!
Valentines day for Eliana was a success and all the kids enjoyed the sugar-free snacks and pre-printed cardboard love notes. Ivy still had an extra day on her preschool’s quarantine protocol and missed her class’s party. Her teacher sent adorable photos, but I didn’t show them to her because I am not an idiot. Instead, I bought her a helium balloon at the Dollar (and a quarter) Tree and she was happy.
The day after Valentines, when Ivy went back to preschool, I finally settled down to catch up with my online grading. My feelings of normalcy were cut short, however, with a call from the elementary school. My nine-year-old was feeling poorly in the nurse’s office, could I pick her up? I drove her directly to the Walgreens and picked up a rapid Covid-19 test kit. Positive. I called the school to report the findings. Quarantine and she can return next week if she tests negative, otherwise it’s two.
I hope that this is the last of it for our family. I hope that the Oregon hospitalization numbers dip under 400 to reverse the in-door masking mandates. I hope that this is the bitter end. I hope.
