. . . look like re-entry.
What a difference a week makes. Last Monday, I was . . . not good. This Monday? It’s a whole new ballgame! I’ve got a new week, a new season, and a new energy level to move me forward. (There is nothing like being sick to give you a new appreciation for being well, y’know?)
So. A lot of my friends are asking me . . . What happened??? How did you and Tom get Covid?
Well. It was simple. After maintaining a fairly cautious existence for two-and-a-half years . . . after performing major “risk analysis” calculations anytime we stepped out of our bubble to try something new . . . after monitoring “the numbers” and keeping up with our boosters and tracking the (often conflicting) “recommendations” . . . we threw all caution to the wind and went to see one of our favorite comedians (John Mulaney) at one of our favorite local venues (the State Theater). So, y’know. Basically we drank some beers and laughed uproariously . . . along with 1,200 strangers in a sold-out auditorium. At one point, Tom and I looked at each other and just said . . . what were we thinking??? But we had a great time. It’s hard to drink beer with a mask on, so we partied like it was . . . 2019.
Four days later, Tom tested positive for Covid.
And three days after that, I tested positive for Covid.
Because of course we did.
And I’m sure many people (many of you, I imagine) feel no sympathy for us. After all, what did we think would happen? And I get that! We took a risk (ill-advised as it was), and we had some fun. And then we paid the price by getting sick. If I could relive that moment in time, I might opt to wear the mask and not drink the beer. But I’m also . . . not certain that I would have. It was . . . so freeing . . . to step back to the before-times, when we regularly went to concerts and performances and frequented live music venues. We were actually . . . more than a little giddy about the whole experience.
Having Covid was Not Fun at all. It’s an unpleasant and miserable virus, pure and simple. Both Tom and I took Paxlovid once we tested positive, which helped significantly, but we were still down – and out of commission – for nearly a week.
In the end, I’m glad we’ve been so cautious for so long, and were able to avoid Covid until there were boosters and treatment protocols and anti-virals available to make it less frightening. But this whole experience made me realize how much we’ve (all of us) given up for our health and safety. I don’t regret being extra cautious for all this time (after all, I do fall into the at-risk category because of immunosuppressant drugs I take for my rheumatoid arthritis), and I thank my family and friends who’ve helped me stay safely in my little bubble.
But you know what?
John Mulaney was hilarious.
And that beer tasted really good.
You gotta live sometimes.
Y’know?
oof. I am so glad that the paxlovid worked…but a week of feeling not well. just ugh. I am full of sympathy for you both… and even more empathy at the “just gotta live” comment.
Glad you are BOTH better! XO
Oh I get it for sure! I’m just glad, as you said, that it was now and not earlier. I’m sure if you had not been vaxed and boosted it would have been far, far worse. I am glad you two got a night out and some fun. As you say, sometimes you’ve just gotta live! So glad you are both doing better.
I’m glad you and Tom are feeling better and I do have plenty of sympathy for you, too. As you said, all of us have given up so much for our health and safety and now we have to weigh the risks any time we do something in public. In the past week, we’ve been out to dinner with friends, traveled to northern PA, and spent lots of time in close proximity to others. Fun was had, but there were also plenty of thoughts about covid. But as you also said, sometimes you do have to live. You took a calculated risk and paid a price for it, but that doesn’t mean that John Mulaney and beer weren’t worthwhile. Enjoy feeling better and all those naturally-produced antibodies!
Absolutely no judgement here. Happy that you had access to the meds and are back to health. We all need to figure out the balance.
Its good to get back to doing the things you like.
The way I figure is we do the best we can to minimize the risk (like the shots, boosters, mask when necessary…), but we have to live life.
I’m so glad to read that you are feeling better.
I’m so glad to read that you are feeling better.
I think we have to get back to doing the things we enjoy doing. We do as much as we can to minimize the risk, but life has to go on.
This “thing” is not going away. We have to learn how to deal with it in ways we are comfortable with.
I’m glad you and Tom are feeling better. I think COVID is with us and we have to learn to minimize risk and enjoy life, we have to find a balance. I’m thankful for the new treatments and the vaccines.
Almost everyone I know has had it except for me and my sister and let me tell you, we feel like sitting ducks! We plan to leave Friday for a “sister” get-away to Holland, MI for a couple of days, so we are trying to stay healthy so we can go, but we made sure our reservations are refundable if we need to cancel.
Glad you’re feeling better. It seems like everyone I know has covid right now, and they’re all people like you who have been very cautious. Agree with Debbie and Dee and everyone else who says we’re going to have to find a balance. We went to a favorite restaurant that we haven’t been to since before the pandemic and I had that thought–“is this the place I’ll get it?” But I enjoyed the crab lasagna anyway!
No judgment here! We think we got our Covid in a busy airport amidst the large number of unmasked people. We wore our masks except to eat and drink. Even took a direct flight. The virus is out there and chances are those of us making through the last two and half years will get it at some point.
Glad the Paxlovid helped you both recover in a week! Also glad you got to enjoy yourself at the event.
I think in the early days, when it wasn’t as clear how to catch it, it was easy to say “told ya so!” to the people who caught it when they didn’t take precautions, but the truth is that it’s so contagious now that you can catch it if if you’re fully vaxxed/boosted, wearing masks, and avoiding crowds most of the time. I tend to avoid crowds in general (because they made me nervous long before COVID), but I don’t expect everyone to be content sitting at home all the time. The truth is that this virus is going to be with us indefinitely, and while I think we still need to be careful and do things like get boosters and stay home if we’re sick, the fact of the matter is that it’s perfectly reasonable to expect to be able to go out and do things — and sometimes that may have consequences, just as it did in the past. That’s a long-winded way of saying I’m sorry you both got sick, but I don’t blame you at all for wanting to experience some joy and the feeling of the way things used to be. And I’m very glad that you’re both better!
I’m glad to hear you’re on the right side of this now! I too am afraid it’s with us – we’ll just keep the vaccinations coming and only live dangerously on occasion!
I am glad to hear that you are feeling better now. Your night out sounds like it was amazing, I am sorry that it ended up with you being ill as a result.
Welcome back! I’m so grateful Marc and I have managed to avoid the virus for so long (especially since we regularly see our grandkids AND my mom). I’d be shocked if we make it through another indoor season all staying healthy, but wow, that would be nice.
I’m glad you are feeling better! I’m glad you enjoyed your night out. I have been so careful (my parents are in their 90’s) and last week went to a writer’s thing that was partially inside and partially outside. I didn’t mask inside (about under 15 people a foot away from each other) and I was very nervous about it as I don’t go inside without a mask usually. I worried afterwards but lucked out. I’m so glad I went as I met a local author I always wanted to meet and an old co-worker wrote a book and it was great to connect with her again but if I had to do it again, I would have kept a mask on inside as the stress of worrying about it a lot.
No judgement from me. This virus is going to be with us indefinitely. The best we can do is weigh the risks and benefits. I’m glad you and Tom were able to go out and enjoy an evening. It’s hard to decide what to do when. I am glad you are feeling better.
I think the whole nation is ready to go out and have some fun. It is not natural to live such an intensely cautious life indefinitely. And may weaken us in other ways if we are stringent about it – mentally, economically, socially. Maintaining that balance sometimes requires a vigilance beyond our capabilities. (E.g. Let’s say you are involved in an auto accident and must trade insurance information with an – unknown to either of you – Covid carrier.). Thank the dear lord and the medical establishment for the vaccines. And deeply sorry for those who must (a) be strict about the protocols or (b) have suffered severely because they ended up getting it anyway. So glad yours was a relatively light case. And that you are now well and smiling again. I wish us all well. We are all connected. (Of course there are those who behave irresponsibly but that is a whole different matter – and not the issue here.). Thank you Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, etc. And now Paxlovid, which I didn’t know before by name, thank you Kym.
Joining in to say: I, too, am glad you’re well. No judgment here.
At least you got it while having fun . . . I got it by attending a work conference! LOL. In all seriousness, you’ve done all the things the medical experts have recommended . . . being vaccinated and boosted and taking precautions . . . but the mental health experts recommend that we live our lives and have experiences that bring us joy. I’m glad the Paxlovid helped and I’m so glad you and Tom are both back to your healthy selves!
We had a friend over for cocktails. That’s how we got it. She had symptoms two days after her granddaughters birthday party (5 kids) and we got it two days after seeing her. Covid is contagious!
So glad you’re back! And that you have come out on the other side feeling well.
I got mine doing a good deed.
Went to an outdoor wedding reception and, afterward, offered my sister and her husband a ride back to their hotel. Unbeknownst to me, she had worn a mask when riding with my sister from the hotel to another sister’s house because she had a scratchy throat (neither mentioned it). No mask when I drove them. After dropping them at the hotel, I continued the rest of the way to my brother’s house 45 minutes away with the air recirculating in the car, as it was August, in Nashville. The next day, I drove the nine hours home, again with the air recirculating (I live in FL… for the time being, am in SC as I type this, checking on our house build, in NC.) All to say, by Wednesday, I was sick as was my husband who didn’t even go to Nashville. Mostly flu-like for us (vaxxed and boosted), but on top of being sick, I was livid that they had known they didn’t feel well, but didn’t care to tell me. I had masks in the car console, and would have still driven them but would have masked, and asked them to mask. (Ironically, this is the same sister who threw a fit when she found out our brother wasn’t vaxxed while she was sitting next to him at another reception in March, and changed seats…)
Hindsight what it is, I should have masked, and didn’t. So I accept responsibility. Still a bit sore at my sister.
And, you’re right, I’ve made choices to go places recently, and have, by luck, not gotten the virus, however the fact that I wasn’t given the choice in this situation is maddening.
Welcome back to blogging. I look forward to your viewpoint on so many things!