Day 194

 A lot and I mean A LOT has happened this week.  It's time for another list. 

1.  Will had cold symptoms most of last weekend.  Much to Will's disappointment, he had to get a COVID test on Monday.  Once I got him in the car, he was a trooper about the test.  

2. I kept Reina home Tuesday because our initial guidance from the health dept was that we should quarantine in case Will was a positive test.  Later, they told us that we didn't have to quarantine but that they recommended it. I was already working from home and Glenn was on a hunting trip so it was pretty easy to hunker down. 

3.  Will cold got a little worse but no fever, just a sore throat and achy body and congestion.  He and I started to get convinced that he was going to test positive.   Just as that scenario started to kick into full gear, we got the call from the health dept saying that Will had tested negative.   Yah!  Negative!  

4.  A few hours after that call, I started to get Will's cold symptoms. 

5. Glenn came home from his hunting trip. Yah! 

6.  Reina went back to school.  Yah! 

7. I finished teaching a workshop online and my cold symptoms got worse.  But I got the workshop done and I didn't have to worry about getting anyone in the class sick. 

8.  Glenn took me to the doctor today because I had a fever overnight. I got my own COVID test (not fun, that swab is up your nose for a ridiculous amount of time) and have bronchitis.  I was given a breathing treatment at the doctor's office and sent home with a bunch of medicine. I'm sure I'll be on the mend soon. 

9.  Reina's showing some cold symptoms tonight.  Glenn, save yourself.  

Day 189

 Will's officially OFFICIALLY quarantined.  After my post last week, we got an email the next day saying that the A team football kids could back to school on Friday.  So off he went Friday morning.  He wanted me to bring him his football equipment because there was still going to be practice Friday afternoon.  When I went to drop the stuff off, I was informed that he was officially being quarantined.  We have a letter from the Dept of Health and everything.  It's a little intimidating but basically, he can't leave the house until school on Sept 29.  No visitors to our house.  We're monitoring him for symptoms and he'll get tested later this week.  So far so good.  Although every time the kid sneezes or coughs, I want to take his temperature.  That level of scrutiny is super fun for him, as I'm sure you can imagine. 

The rest of us are good.  Reina and I stayed home most of the weekend, except for a few essential errands and we did curbside pick-up wherever possible.  Glenn was hunting, which is the perfect definition of social distancing.   The dogs got some long walks and jogs and the cats got more attention than they feel is necessary. 

I took some pictures of Will's game on Wednesday and I'm so glad I remembered my camera.  The team still has two games on the schedule for when quarantine ends for them, but I'm not sure if those games will go.  We'll just have to wait and see.  For last week's game, the team was missing about a 1/3 of the players so Will got a ton of playing time on defense too.  The score was not in their favor but I think he had fun out there.  

Will, his water bottle and the corner of someone's head.  

Getting ready to play some O-line 

I know someday I'll look back on these pics and think that he looks so small, but right now?  Who's that giant man/child out there?  

Day 185 and Quarantined for real (sort of)

 On Monday night, we got a message from the Jr High that someone had tested positive for COVID-19 and an entire core (like a really big homeroom, the school is divided into 6 cores... or maybe 8) was being ordered to quarantine at home.  Will wasn't in this core but 1/3 of the football team was.  Fast forward to tonight . We got another message from the school stating that the 8th grade football team had been in contact with someone who tested positive so they are supposed to stay home until further notice from the County Health Dept.  We assume that Will is quarantined for two weeks but we're not sure when that two weeks will start.  He's mostly nonplussed (am I using that word correctly?) but is bummed about the possible early end to the football season.  I'm not as stressed as those of you who know me might think.  One dang day at a time right?  You can bet that I'll be monitoring the heck out of every little sniffle and cough he makes, while also cataloging my own aches and pains.  As far as I know, the rest of us don't quarantine unless he tests positive or shows symptoms.  I'm still working from home but Reina and Glenn will both head to school and work.  In the meantime, I'll be placing another grocery order for all of the frozen burritos in town and coming up with ways to keep Will entertained.  Oh who am I kidding. I left his room a few minutes ago with the words "turn off the XBox, you still have a normal schedule mister..."  This is going to be an adventure.  

Day 182ish

Here's a big list of stuff that happened this week. 

1.  It snowed! And froze!  We ended up with just a few inches of snow but some cold temps at night so the gardening season is officially finished.  My flowers in pots and some odds and ends survived in the garage so we'll have a little bit of color to get us through the fall... or until is snows again. 

2.  We made it through another week of in-person school!  Reina and Will are both doing well.  They have a lot of homework at night and by the end of the week, they are both pretty tired.  Reina's dance classes start back up this week and Will's football season is still going strong. 

3.  Speaking of football, Will played some defense yesterday and recovered a fumble on the 1-yd line.  It was so exciting!  He did the right thing by falling on the ball instead of trying to scoop and score but oh man, it would've been fun to watch him get a defensive TD . 

4.  Glenn was gone most of the week on a work trip.  It was the longest we've all been apart since this whole thing began back in March.  I missed his company and the extra driver for school runs.  The kids miss his calming personality when mom is losing her you-know-what.  

5.  Glenn and I ran a race yesterday.  It was a fundraiser put on by Aunt Vicky to benefit projects at the hospital.  Glenn ran the half marathon and I did the 10k.  The race takes place on a buffalo ranch and it's gorgeous scenery with a lot of hills.  I was slow, Glenn was a little slower than he wanted to be but we both finished without barfing and made it back in time to catch most of Will's game.  A win-win for everyone.  

On to a new week!  

Day 175ish

We all made it through the first week of school!  I had planned to write a big post tonight but (1) I'm really tired - it was 90 degrees again today and we worked in the yard and blah blah blah and (2) Will has to look at the constellations every night for his science class and 45 minutes ago he panicked because he couldn't find the worksheet so of course I had to help.  Glenn even got in on the search. We looked in every folder and backpack, the recycling bin and other random, weird places (the back of the toilet, behind the sideboard, Reina's closet because why not?) and we (I mean "I") eventually found it under a blanket on the living room floor.  Naturally.  

That sums up our first week of school nicely and I'll try to be a more thorough storyteller tomorrow.  

First day of school 2020 style

We made it through the first day of school.  Despite some early morning jitters (mostly by me), everyone got to school on time, with their masks and lunches, backpacks and jeans.  It was cold enough for long pants!  They both woke up early enough that I could get in a few pictures before the 8th grader (gulp!) headed out.  

First day of 8th grader.  

Day 165 and the one with all the ear wax

Tomorrow is the last day of summer vacation and I have a lot of thoughts about it.  But first, let's talk about the second to last day of summer vacation.  Tuesday night, Will and I were up watching the Rockies game and I started to have a bad headache.  It turned into one of the worst headaches I've ever had and I even woke up Glenn to get some help.  My forehead was aching and I felt so queasy and of course my brain went immediately to "I have a brain tumor and there's brain fluid leaking out of my nose."  I'm pretty rational at 11:00 p.m.  The next day I realized that I probably had a sinus infection. I tried a bunch of over the counter stuff yesterday but was still feeling droopy so I went to the doctor today.  It turns out, you have to have two weeks of a sinus infection before they will prescribe antibiotics so I have 10 more days to go. I did pick up some more OTC meds that are helping.  While I was at the doctor's office, the PA discovered that one of my ears was completely blocked with wax.  Does this blog get anymore glamorous?  So after two rounds of ear wax treatment and an unspeakable amount of wax pulled out of my ear, I'm happy to report that I can hear everyone grumbling and complaining about the lack of snacks in our house so much more clearly.  I still have a headache so the ear wax isn't completely to blame for my condition but at least my ear canal is clear.  And who knows, when I get on the scale tomorrow, maybe I'll have a lost a pound or two.  Of ear wax.  How's that for a visual?  

All grumbling about snacks aside, we have had a pretty sweet week together.  It's still hotter than necessary for the last week of August in Cheyenne but we had some rain today and the forecast shows things cooling off.  Will is tired from football practice and Reina has had some time with aunt and cousins this week and she and I tried to make a doll's outfit on the sewing machine yesterday.  Let's just say that we hope outfit #2 turns out better.  

Glenn and I walked Charlie tonight and talked about this summer wrapping up.  As hard as it's been with everything going on in the world and the worries about getting sick or someone we love getting sick and all of the TOGETHERNESS, this has really been one of my most significant summers of being a parent.  I feel like I've really gotten to know the kids on a different level.  Maybe that would have happened if it had been a normal summer.  13-yr olds and 11-yr olds are pretty cool - there's a lot of good stuff going on there.  We've developed little patterns - Will and I watch baseball, Reina and I take Charlie out for what she calls his midnight walks.  It's more like 8:15 p.m. but who's counting.  Will keeps me updated on his fantasy football team and Reina and I read the same books.  Glenn's here too - practicing tackling drills with Will in the backyard and letting Reina stay up until 10:00 p.m. watching a documentary on Nefertiti.  We've cooked more meals than I care to count and the dishwasher is always running.  

It's not all peaches and cream - there have been fights about electronics, differing opinions about the role of the police (really) and most nights end with me saying to one or both of the darling monsters, "I love you but I really really need to not talk to anyone right now." But we have made our way through it.  

The kids go back to their school buildings on Monday.  Most 'experts' (other parents, teachers and the nurses at the doctor's office today) agree that they probably won't be in school long.  I've read the school district's plan for keeping everyone COVID-free and I'd say there's a pretty good chance that they'll be online-schooling from home sometime this fall, but on Monday we will embrace a little bit of normalcy, even if it's just for a day.