I picked up the boys Thursday night and took them to my sister's house for a little outside barbecue. Whenever we go out in public places, the rules are different than if at my sister's house. Firstly, we don't really take our kids to public places unless absolutely necessary anymore. And we always wear face masks. My sister's house is treated like an extension of our own. She only lives with her husband, and they have a pretty mellow life. So even with this whole pandemic thing, visiting her has always been a thing to do.
It was on Saturday afternoon that she got the news that she tested positive for Corona virus. Sunday, her husband did. Today is the day I got my news.
"So what about my kids?" I asked the nurse from the Health Department who was on the phone. "I understand I'm going to miss at least two weeks of work, but what about my kids?"
"If it's possible, they should stay with you," she basically said. "They could take the illness home to their mother, even if they are asymptomatic now."
This is how it begins, my dear reader. I have lived here one week, and now not only do I have to shelter in place, but so do my three boys.
For at least 14 days.
Throughout a couple conversations with my wife, we decided it really was the best thing to have the boys with me, so long as I am well enough to take care of them (and the Health Department agreed). You see, there is always a chance with Corona virus that the case will not be severe enough to land you in the hospital. Most cases don't make it to the hospital. However, there is a very good chance that I'm about to get very sick over the next few days. If it gets bad enough that the boys can no longer stay with me, of course their mother will come get them and we'll deal with whatever that brings. But until then, it is my boys and me living in the tiny house.
And we're gonna live THE CRAP out of this tiny house. Things are gonna get really creative real fast, and we are going to stick to a routine throughout this isolation otherwise COVID-19 won't be the worst of our problems! The days are going to be filled with art, tin whistle lessons, helping with cooking/cleaning/laundry, and the boys all know they will need to do their part. And I trust they will. One day down, and I think we did fine with it.
I appreciate the help from their mother, though. She ran to the grocery store and bought a haul of food--I had purchased precisely enough to last until Monday night--and she brought art supplies and games and clothes. She unloaded the groceries in front of the house then climbed back into her car while I brought them in. While I was putting everything away indoors she assembled our outside steps that were recently delivered. The boys talked to her and smiled at her through a closed window, and neither she nor I permitted them to go outside while she was visiting because of the risk of exposure.
As of right now COVID is starting out pretty manageable for me. I've discovered through speaking on the phone with the doctor that the telling symptoms are becoming more vague as the virus takes on new faces. It seems it can almost present as anything now. For me it's light-headedness with a bit of vertigo, and it became a bit of a headache tonight. I don't have much of a cough, and I don't have a fever to speak of. If this is all it becomes--and I pray it is--I'll be able to handle it and the boys. With the horror stories of the folks in the hospital mixed with the rumors of asymptomatic cases, I really don't know what to expect as this infection runs its course. But the best news of all is the boys appear to be completely healthy, and that is what matters the very most.
So my friend, chin up is what I keep telling myself. I'll let you know if there is reason to be worried for me. When this whole circus is over, and I manage to quarantine in my tiny house WITH my boys, I think you and I should go for milkshakes. Good ones. How does that sound?
Warmly--but not feverishly,
D
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