We're In Safe Hands with Allyson

In the weeks ahead of Allyson's 15th birthday, she started filling out job applications online, mainly for minimum-wage restaurant jobs that she might not have enjoyed much. She did want to work at Braum's Ice Cream and Dairy, most likely for the employee discount, but they never even acknowledged her application even though their sign said they were hiring. Despite the labor shortage that's been all over the news, she didn't get a single interview call during weeks of searching. I figured the problem might be her limited availability due to a very full soccer schedule. Or maybe it was her young age, but many of her friends had been working for months by then.

Although I didn't say it out loud, I was skeptical that she could find a job that would work with her erratic schedule. Due to the aforementioned soccer, she'd have to be out for up to a week at a time for tournaments and would be available only mornings some days and only evenings on others due to games and practices. Still, I felt sure she would nail the interview if she could just land one; Allyson is mature for her age and very articulate, as well as responsible and teachable.

The start of summer vacation came, and she was still jobless, but she made good use of her idle time by volunteering at the Botanic Garden. A few weeks earlier, she had searched for volunteer opportunities that fit with her prospective field of environmental science. She found the site, filled out the paperwork, and signed up for a virtual orientation all on her own. 

Although Allyson had never done any planting except for helping with a few family gardens when she was a very small girl, she was a natural. On her first day, she was planting bulbs in little pots. On other shifts, she transplanted plants, pruned trees, and trimmed topiary sculptures (bushes shaped like giraffes, elephants, etc.). When she came home from her shifts, it was much different than coming home from school, where most of her days are simply "fine." She told me all about not only the plants she'd cared for, but also about the interesting characters she met, such as a botanist from Russia. The majority of the volunteers are retirees, but Allyson felt comfortable conversing with them from the start. At the annual appreciation luncheon, she and the friend she brought along were the only people under 60, but she still had a great time. 

First Day on the Job

Despite the fun of learning a new hobby and meeting lots of people, Allyson still wanted gainful employment, yet she was almost too busy to apply for jobs, let alone work them. She continued to keep her eyes open for opportunities, but it was her father who found the right one. At their neighborhood pool one Friday, he struck up a conversation with the teenage lifeguard and learned two things: (1) the job was fun and easy; and (2) like everyone else around the country, they desperately needed new employees.

The timing was perfect, if a bit tight; a lifeguard training class was starting that Monday. All Allyson had to do was take about 15 hours of online training over the weekend and show up for the training. She had the option to have the training fee deducted from her future paychecks or to pay in advance. Either way, she would owe the money regardless of whether she could pass the rigorous physical requirements and the written exam. 

Of course, I knew that Allyson could swim because she'd learned at the age of three, when we got our pool at the old house. But I'd never thought of her as a particularly strong swimmer capable of rescuing a drowning person. "What do you have to do to pass?" I asked dubiously.

Dogs Change Everything

I've been working on two other, more important, blog stories for the last few days, but I just had to stop and tell you this story while it's still fresh, so to speak....

In the 19 years (!) that I've been walking in the park across the street from my house, I've learned some fairly reliable protocols about social interactions. I find these conventions fascinating, and I rarely deviate from them since I'm a rule-following sort of girl. Here's how it works, at least in my park:

• The first time you pass someone on the large circle around the soccer field, you may make eye contact and smile. If they also make eye contact, you may mutter, "Good morning" or "Hello." If they pretend they don't see you, you just smile self-consciously and stay silent.*
• On the second and perhaps the third passes with the friendly people, you smile at each other without speaking. After that, it isn't rude to avoid eye contact if the smiles become tiresome. 
• If you pass the person who ignored you last time, you feign an intense interest in the soccer practice, the basketball game, or the sunset. 
• If you pass the same person on three or four different days, and they seem to recognize you, you may smile and also nod. 
• If you pass the same person on ten or more different days, you may pause next to them and say, "Good morning, how are you?" in a voice loud enough to actually be heard. They will say, "Fine, thank you." 
• If you see one of these familiar people after a long absence, you may say, "Good to see you again." And that will be true. There's something so comforting about the seeing the same familiar faces each morning and evening.
• After the 20th time or so of nodding and smiling or exchanging pleasantries, you may ask the person's name. It's okay if you don't remember their name the next time, because they probably won't remember yours either. 
• If you've greeted each other by name a few times, you may even fall into step with them for a ways and start a real conversation.

*It may be only me who feels self-conscious. Yes, probably. 

All of these rules work very well to help create just the right combination of solitude and human connection. BUT... 

A dog changes everything.

I've noted that if you walk a dog, people will stop and talk to you. Children will ask to pet your dog. Adults will ask you about the breed, the age, the weight. Just like that, you will find yourself having a real conversation with someone you've never seen before.

If both parties have dogs, the conversation can go much deeper while the dogs play, especially if the dogs are well-behaved enough to be trusted off leash. When that happens in the evening, a dog party might ensue. Dogs of all shapes and sizes will chase each other around and roll in the grass while their humans chat about dogs and who knows what else. Laughter will echo in the air over a backdrop of insects' songs. 

Up until recently, I'd never been able to fully join those dog parties, though I hovered wistfully around the fringes and asked about dog names and breeds. One very kind lady--whose name I've forgotten--with an amazingly obedient Dobermann named Matisse always welcomes me in. She teases me about getting a dog, but when others ask why I don't have one, she explains, "She's a cat person." 

As you can imagine, when I got to watch Allyson's Husky, Archer, the week before last, I was quite eager to take him to the park on my nightly walks. I was not keen on picking up poop, so even though he would only be with me for a week, I bought an ingenious poop scooper that is totally contactless. It clicks onto the leash and comes with a compartment for dispensing the bags.

Archer on his first stay back in February

If you've been reading a very long time, you may recall how excited I can get over poop scoopers. After about eight years, I haven't changed a bit, at least in that regard. I must admit that I was rather disappointed when I had no occasion to use the scooper, night after night. I was even more disappointed that there was no sign of a dog party, although several kids did ask to pet my dog and one father admired his beautiful blue eyes.

On his last night with me, I got to join the dog party. Matisse's owner was thrilled to see me with a dog, but Matisse shocked me by snarling at Archer. Up until then he'd seemed to have an affinity for dogs of every size and type. Archer didn't react strongly, but I thought it wise to leave the party early.

Perhaps that encounter had scared the crap out of Archer, because a couple of minutes later, I got to use the new poop scooper for the first time. It was amazing! I unfurled a little bag, opened it wide, and stuffed it into the jaws of the scoop, wrapping the rest of the bag around the outside. Then I just scooped that turd right up, Pacman style. There was no warmth, no squish, and best of all, no smell. At the nearest trashcan, I tied up the ends of the bag, pinched the scoop open, and dropped the bag in.

It worked so well that I even contemplated getting a dog of my own. But then, Archer almost yanked my arm out of socket as he drug me into the brambles chasing something, probably a rabbit. "No!" I shrieked, pulling back on the leash with all my weight as I cast my eyes about for snakes and poison ivy. 

Despite these misadventures, and the piles of hair that he shed around the house, I readily agreed to watch Archer again this week. 

On our first walk last night, I noticed that he was far less reticent about pooping away from home. We'd scarcely reached the circle when he assumed the stance. "Oh, you're all about pooping in the park now, aren't you?" I said, but I wasn't worried since I'd remembered to clip the poop scooper to his leash. I soon found, however, that squishy poop isn't so easily retrieved. The novelty had already worn off.

On tonight's walk, he had other plans for livening up my evening. As we crossed the bridge over the babbling brook that leads to the park circle, I admired a sweet family. The mom held onto a stroller and looked down on her husband and two young children who were throwing rocks into the water from the bank. Absorbed in this heartwarming scene, I forgot to take up the slack on Archer's leash on our approach. 

At the last moment I recognized his intent to sniff the lady and tugged on the leash, but I was too slow. The woman stood with her back to us, in a partial crouch, probably checking on her baby. Without hesitation, Archer plunged his wet nose right up... where the sun don't shine!!

The woman let out a little shriek and stumbled backward--away from the edge of the bridge, thank God. She whirled around to see who had goosed her just as I yanked Archer away.

Our eyes locked on each other, both of our jaws lowered in horror and shock. Time seemed to stand still for a few moments. 

"I-I'm sorry!" I squeaked at last.

She just stood there, still speechless. And then we both burst out laughing. Her husband, who was climbing up to the bridge, joined in. The three of us shared a belly laugh, gasping and snorting. "I'm so sorry," I managed to splutter.

"Cute dog," she replied. 

As I walked away, I kept laughing, so hard that tears were rolling down my cheeks as I passed a man coming from the circle. This was only the second time I'd ever seen him, and we were not even at the head-nodding stage, but I forgot all about the protocol. 

I could see his curiosity over my maniacal laughter, so I stopped next to him and said, "I just have to share the laughter. See that lady over there?" I gestured with my head toward the family, who were still laughing behind me. "My dog just sniffed her butt. He just put his nose right up there," I said, forming a crack between my thumb and fingers and pressing the fingers of the other hand forcefully into it. "Oh my gosh," I said, shaking my head in disbelief and breaking into fresh giggles. 

He smiled and laughed, and went on his way. I felt decidedly self-conscious and rather wished I'd stuck to the protocol. Surely he must think I was crazy.

One minute later I forgot my embarrassment when Archer crouched in the same spot along the circle from the night before. This time, he shuffled around and made three squishy piles. "Archer!" I groaned. "Stop moving around." 

As he danced around, pulling against the leash looped around my wrist, I wrestled out a bag with one hand and clumsily wrapped it around the scooper, wrinkling my nose at the noxious fumes rising into the hot air of the summer evening. As I crouched to scrape up the first pile, I felt him lunge behind me and realized he must be sniffing another hapless stranger. "No!" I yelled as my phone dropped into the grass dangerously close to the poop and I fought to keep my balance.

"I'm sorry," I said to the person behind me. But then I heard familiar laughter. It was Allyson, coming out to meet her friends Morgan and Jacob. I sighed with relief. "Will you take Archer while I..." I gestured to the remaining piles. 

"Sure," she said, taking the leash.

"Unless you want to pick it up."

"Nope," she said decisively. 

"But he's your dog." 

She just shook her head. 

The job took two bags, and there was a lot of smeared residue on the grass that I just had to leave there. "I did my best," I said ruefully as I took back the leash. 

I was just thinking how happy I'd be to give Archer back to Bill when I passed someone familiar: the man I'd told the butt-sniffing story to. He nodded and smiled at me, chuckling audibly.

The second time he passed me, he smiled and asked, "How many more do you have?" 

I figured he must mean how many laps. "This is my last," I replied. "Have a good evening."

"You too," he said warmly. 

As I walked the short distance to the house, I admired the gorgeous sunset and beamed over the memory of the laughter I'd shared with three strangers, and over the way a dog can accelerate you past days or weeks of polite encounters, straight into connections that make you smile and forget your cares. 

Maybe I do need a dog... or at least I should borrow one now and then.

Archer and Arwen last night, breaking the ice with a salesperson who came to sell me solar panels

Doesn't he look angelic? 

Treasures from Snowmageddon 2021

By now this is old news, but I've been saving up a story since the second week of February, when Texas endured an arctic blast that knocked out power to about 4.5 million homes for several days. Although my brother Rick had no electricity for about three days, and my parents had no water for even longer, at our house we were blessed to have both electricity and water the whole time. 

Due to my thyroid condition, I have abnormally low body temperature and a severe intolerance to cold, so I was doubly grateful to have heat. Even so, I shivered for days because I'd lowered the thermostat to 68 degrees at the request of local utilities in order to conserve power and prevent further blackouts. It's amazing what a difference just 3 degrees can make to your comfort. 

Since nothing dramatic happened at our house, my memories of this historic catastrophe will be very different from that of many of my Texas neighbors. Mostly, it is a list of blessings--treasures brought to us by "Snowmageddon." 

Family Time

Allyson's dad had gone out of town the prior weekend to Houston, and he was stuck down there for five more days in an Air B&B with neither water nor electricity. Due to the first major snowfall Houston had seen since the 80s, the interstate was impassable. 

For me, that meant extra time with Allyson, especially since the schools were also closed, and they didn't even have online classes due to major Internet outages. Since the roads were dangerous and nothing was open anyway, we had nowhere to go and nothing to do except hang out together.

Allyson did enjoy playing in the snow for the first couple of days with some friends who live a couple of blocks away. I was worried she'd get frostbite in frigid air--as low as -2 degrees Fahrenheit! But she was just fine, returning rosy-cheeked and breathless with stories.

Coronavirus Day 19 - Stronger Each Day and Very Grateful

It's now been nearly three weeks since my Covid-19 infection, and a few of you have asked for an update. 

The day of my last update, Wednesday 2/10/21, was my first half day back at work. I'd been feeling really bored and mildly anxious over missing so much work given our tight deadlines. I started with 4 hours in the morning, and although the time went too quickly, I found myself watching the clock for the last few minutes because I was ready for a nap. 

I was a little concerned that sitting at my desk for four hours could make me so tired, but I reminded myself that this was only day 7, and many Covid-19 patients miss two to three weeks of work. So I listened to my body and took a lovely nap with sweet Arwen.

The next day, the time went even more quickly because I had so much work to do. I could have worked longer, but I logged off after four hours. Again, I took a nap, but this time I slept alone. For some reason CiCi had come in at the start of my nap and shoved Arwen off onto the floor, but then she left too. "What? You just don't want Arwen to sleep with me?" I called after her. She didn't look back. When I woke up, however, both cats were curled up on either side of my legs. 

On Friday 2/12, I started my morning with some belly laughter during our daily check-in via Zoom. I can't remember what we all laughed about, but I remember thinking about the healing power of laughter and feeling very thankful. The next thing I noticed during that meeting was that an annoying chemical smell was emanating from the bathroom, just to the left of my desk. It was a perfume-y odor, the kind that makes my nose itch and my eyes water. 

When the meeting ended, I opened the door to investigate, and the smell assaulted my nostrils. It took a moment for the significance to register. I could smell! I surveyed the messy counter; Allyson had taken over the master bedroom and bathroom ever since I'd moved to the cats' room to sleep on the adjustable bed. Allyson had colored her hair a few days earlier, and I was smelling a concoction she'd made from baking soda and hair conditioner. I wondered how I could possibly have missed this overpowering aroma for the last two days when I'd been working at the same desk. 

I coughed and carried the offending items to the kitchen. While I was there, I opened the refrigerator for a snack and immediately wrinkled my nose in disgust. Obviously, something was spoiled. How long had the refrigerator smelled like this? I resolved to clean the fridge over the weekend.

After peeling and eating a clementine, I returned to my desk and inhaled the orange scent that lingered on my fingers. It smelled so lovely that happy tears sprang to my eyes. I'd been fearing that my loss of smell would last weeks or months as it does for some Covid-19 patients. 

How odd that my sense of smell had returned as abruptly as it had vanished, almost like flipping a switch. Again I wondered at the cause of this, the most common Covid-19 symptom. My understanding is that it is a neurologic issue. In any case, I figured the restoration of my olfactory function had to be a good sign. 

Another good sign was that I accidently worked five hours instead of four, and I didn't feel the need for a nap afterward. 

A Cleaning Frenzy

On Saturday 2/13,  I woke up in the mood to clean. The house was even dirtier than usual because I'd been unable to clean for the duration of my sickness, and the clutter had really piled up. Between 10 and 5:30, I joyfully did laundry, straightened messes, swept my bedroom and bathroom, mopped the bathroom, cleaned the vanity, did the dishes, and cleaned the refrigerator. I remarked to my friend Laura in a text that I felt like that iconic muscle woman on the World War II poster (Rosie the Riveter).

Last week, during the arctic blast that nearly took down Texas's power grid, I continued to recover more of my strength each day. I had no trouble waking up each morning, nor putting in my full eight hours of work. (Thank the Lord, I did not lose electricity nor Internet service.) At some point, the mild nausea that had plagued me for two weeks faded away, and my digestion returned to normal.

The only symptom that remained was moderate nasal congestion and mild shortness of breath. Now I seemed to be suffering from a cold, and it followed the usual course, from very runny to very stuffy. At the worst, my nose was both running and completely stopped up, so that blowing brought me no relief whatsoever and my nose was raw. That evening, I tried irrigating my sinuses with saline, and that did seem to help a bit.

Meanwhile, I'd been working my way up to longer trampoline workouts each day. At first, one to two minutes left me breathless, but after a week, I can now handle 10-12 minutes of gentle bouncing. On Thursday and Friday, I did special workouts for lymphatic drainage, and my congestion improved dramatically.

Yesterday and today, my sinuses have been draining so much that I continually need to clear my throat. It's annoying, but much better than being stopped up. In a few more days, I hope that I will be breathing freely and will be able to exert myself without becoming short of breath. 

Today I became winded while singing during church, but afterward I was able to walk and talk for a couple of miles with a friend without feeling tired. The weather was glorious today, up in the 60s! How odd to see people in shorts alongside snow drifts in the store parking lots, which were packed. 

I could tell from all the smiles I observed that everyone else shared my joy in soaking up the sunshine. My own joy was compounded by feeling strong again after those five days in bed just a couple of weeks ago. 

This will most likely be my last coronavirus update, but I will be sure to write again when I am able to report that my shortness of breath is gone. Please continue to pray for my full recovery.

Today

===========================

Vitals: 96/68, 78 beats per minute. (The lower heart rate most likely means that my body is no longer fighting germs. Having a resting heart rate in the 90s was a sign that my immune system was still at war even after most of my symptoms had subsided.)

Symptoms: mild nasal congestion, improving; mild shortness of breath with exertion. 

I've had a break from my usual allergy symptoms ever since the Covid symptoms started. The allergies had been quite severe starting in January. I wonder if my immune system decided to attack the bigger enemy and stop worrying about the mountain cedar pollen for a while. I hope the allergies don't return because I'm really tired of being congested. 

Coronavirus Day 7 - He Takes Good Care of Me

I wrote most of this entry yesterday but finished it tonight, Wednesday.

Waking up at 7 this morning was rough; for the last week I've become accustomed to sleeping as late as 10:00. But Allyson had to get up for school this morning, and therefore so did I. When the alarm went off, I walked across the house to my room, where she was sleeping. 

"Time to get up," I said with all the cheerfulness I could muster.

"Nnnh," she replied. 

I crawled in next to her and pulled the electric blanket up over my shoulders. "What time do you really have to be up?" I mumbled.

"7:20." 

I fumbled with my phone alarm and then snuggled up to her and CiCi.

When the alarm went off again, Allyson said in a voice that reminded me of the little girl she was yesterday, "It's your fault I'm still in bed."

"My fault?"

"Yes. I was about to get up but you made me stay in bed."

"I made you?"

"Yes. You laid down with me and made me fall back asleep." 

I grinned at this admission that I am not the only one who still enjoys cuddling. "Well, you gotta get up. You're going to school today." 

I, on the other hand, went back to sleep until Allyson woke me up at 8. After I'd dropped her at school, I climbed back into bed. CiCi curled up beside me, but for some reason, she slept with her behind in my face. I could still hear her soft snores, and they made me smile as I drifted back off for a few more minutes of sweet morning sleep.

When I got up around 9:30, I was craving pancakes. I whipped up a batch of oatmeal flour batter with ginger and freshly grated nutmeg and sat down at the kitchen table to fry them on the electric griddle. They turned out so fluffy, for being gluten-free!

I still felt short of breath, but I decided not to focus on that. Today I'd woken up feeling determined to believe that I am getting better and to act like it, too. There's no reason to believe I have to be a statistic, and every reason to confess that I am going to regain all of my strength.

When Danny Gokey's "New Day" came on the radio, I got up and started dancing. It was a little more subdued than my usual kitchen dances, but it felt good. Yes, this was a new day, and I was going to enjoy every minute of it. 

I was still catching my breath when I suddenly noticed an unfamiliar white SUV in my driveway. At first I thought it must belong to my friend Pam, who lives right down the road and often brings me goodies such as her famous, nourishing chicken stock. But then I realized it was a Kia. Pam drives... not a Kia. 

I watched the car curiously. Perhaps someone had come to visit my new neighbors--a sweet family, yay!--and they had the wrong house. 

Just as I was phoning Pam to make sure it wasn't her, a text message came through from my friend and coworker Melodie. She'd come to drop off a care package of comfort food!

I couldn't hide the happy tears when I greeted her through the storm door.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I'm just touched!" I sniffled, holding one hand to my heart. 

We gave each other air hugs, and then she was gone.

As I sat at the table unearthing my treasures, "Sparrows" by Cory Asbury came on the radio. I grinned in amazement when I pulled out a warm rotisserie chicken; I'd just been wishing that I could thaw a whole chicken and cook it in the Instant Pot. "You take good care of me," sang Cory. 

"You do take good care of me," I said aloud around a bite of hot soup. "Thank you for being so good to me!" 

I don't recall napping at all, but I did take it easy all day because I was rather tired despite not being sleepy. I didn't do much beyond a load of sheets and washing the dishes. I felt even more proud of myself than usual when I surveyed my kitchen, completely clean for the first time in well over a week. 

My plans to turn in early were thwarted by an upcoming geometry test for Allyson. She didn't start studying until after 9 because she'd had a soccer game. (She wasn't allowed to play in it because of her recent Covid-19 infection, but she still had to be there with her team.) 

The test included some simple trig word problems that she didn't understand. For example, she needed to figure out Juliet's angle of descent in her sight line to Romeo based on his distance from the balcony. She'd asked for help the week before, but I'd been busy with work. Now, I wasn't sure I'd have the brain power to help her, even if I could remember anything about trig. All I remembered was that I'd hated every minute of it in high school.

Amazingly, it all came back to me when she showed me the formulas for finding missing angles and side lengths using sines, tangents, and cosines. 

"Now you just cross multiply," I said, tracing an x with my fingers on her Chromebook screen.

"How?" The fact that the equations included square roots had her stumped.

"Same as you always do."

"So it's x times square root of 2 on this side?"

"Yes. So you need to divide by..."

"Square root of two?"

"On both sides.... So now you have to get that radical out of the denominator. What could you multiply by to do that?"

She had no clue, and it was too late for guessing games.

"Square root of 2," I said.

"How?"

I grabbed the pencil and wrote it out for her. "So what is the square root of two times the square root of two?"

She stared at me blankly. I waited.

"Square root of... four?"

"Yes. And what is the square root of four?" 

"Two."

"Exactly!" 

She took it from there, and I held my breath as she typed her answer into the online math program. A moment later, a big green checkmark appeared. Yes!!

When I fell into bed at 11:30, I was utterly worn out in mind and body, but I was smiling. This 50-year-old has still got it! And man, do I love teaching!

I wasn't smiling when the alarm went off at 8 this morning, but I would do it again because look at this transcript of a text conversation I had this afternoon: 

Allyson: i got an 88 on my geometry test

Sarah: Awesome! Yay us! ;)

Allyson: yea :) 

It was a good day.

My Geometry Partner

P.S. For the record, Allyson is very good at math and often helps her friends with geometry. This may have been the first time I've needed to tutor her. She got confused after missing a couple classes while she was sick. She was very easy to teach!

=========================

Vitals: Didn't bother checking

Symptoms: mild nausea, fatigue, moderate nasal congestion, loss of smell, mild shortness of breath (sore throat... gone!!)

Coronavirus Day 6 - A Day of Discouragement That Turned Out Pretty Good

On Monday morning I woke up without a headache for the first time in six days! I was elated. For about ten minutes. And then I realized something I'd been suspecting for the last day: I was losing my sense of smell. I found that I could smell peppermint essential oil, and lavender oil too. But the frankincense, lemongrass, and myrrh blend that I rub on my thyroid daily was completely without aroma. It was the oddest thing. Nor could I smell the strong, stinky-cheese smell of kefir (raw goat milk yogurt).

I knew that not being able to smell should be the least of my concerns, so I tried not to feel too disappointed. I also hoped that it might be a short-lived problem caused by increased nasal congestion that day. My nose was much stuffier despite the improvement in my other symptoms.

The next thing I noticed was more concerning. I now also had mild shortness of breath. Ten minutes of washing dishes--yay!!--left me feeling a bit winded. I sat down with my phone and read a few articles on the long-term effects of Covid-19. What I read really alarmed me. 

In one study of 128 post-Covid patients with an average age of 49.5 (my age), more than 52% still reported fatigue after ten weeks, regardless of the severity of their original symptoms. The fatigue was severe enough to affect their ability to work and to complete daily tasks. Other articles reported that up to a quarter of post-Covid patients still had significant fatigue after six months. Some of those patients were even unable to return to work.

I retreated to the couch to feel sorry for myself. What if my mild case ended up the same way? 

Arwen soon curled herself around my waist, and after a few minutes of stroking her luxurious fur, I felt better. I reminded myself to focus on gratitude; I certainly have much to be grateful for! Allyson was now well enough to return to school the next day, and I had suffered no serious symptoms. 

I then posted my Day 5 update and was soon overwhelmed with love, prayers, and well wishes from the many people who love me. 

The rest of the day was good. I managed to get the kitchen almost clean. I went for a short, slow walk with Allyson, and she chattered all the way. I felt pretty tired after our 1/3-mile stroll, but it was so wonderful to get out in the sunlight for the first time in six days.

That evening, I read Rebecca to Allyson for about 45 minutes. It was a really dramatic part that I'd been looking forward to, and she was busy ripping up some new blue jeans with scissors and my tweezers, so she let me read a lot longer than usual. Afterward, we talked about what we had read, making "text-to-self connections." What a treat for this former English teacher!

Another high point was a nice, long shower followed by clean clothes that were not pajamas. Heavenly!

I went to bed smiling and spent what may have been the last night in the cat room/sickroom. Tonight I hope to return to my own bed. 

=============================

Vitals: 90/63, 91 bpm. Temperature: 97.8 (my normal)

Symptoms: mild nausea, fatigue, moderate nasal congestion, mild sore throat, new loss of smell, mild shortness of breath

Coronavirus Day 5 - Fever Free!

Sunday was my first full day with no fever. I was much more cautious when I climbed out of bed after 10 hours of decent sleep, but this time I did not get dizzy. 

For breakfast, I took the time to steam some apples for my oatmeal. It was pretty good with kefir and maple syrup on top, but I could only choke down a little over half. 

Once again, I spent most of the day in bed, but I didn't sleep as much. I felt very tired, but no longer sleepy. I felt distressed about my dirty clothes and hair, but not confident enough to risk slipping in the shower. 

On advice from a friend who recovered from Covid-19, I determined to start eating more food to get my energy up. I enjoyed a cherry peanut butter smoothie immensely, though it gave me chills and sent me back to bed for a while. 

Allyson and I had planned a short walk--the same friend recommended getting outside--but we missed the daylight. Allyson asked if we could go for a drive instead, so we did. It was the first time I'd set foot outside the house in five days, and I really enjoyed it. I told Allyson it brought back memories of my family's occasional Sunday drives when I was young. She'd never heard of that custom. 

While we drove, she placed an order for curbside pickup at BJ's Brewhouse. When we arrived, she called in our parking position and told them to set our food in the trunk. The person who delivered our order apparently had not gotten the message, though. She approached the window, but I gestured her back to the open trunk. She set the bag in the trunk but returned with Allyson's soda. 

I cupped my hands around my mouth and leaned against the window. "We have Covid!" I shouted.

"Mama," Allyson groaned.

The woman shook her head in confusion.

"Covid!" I hollered, and pointed at the back of the car. 

The woman whirled on her heel and disappeared behind the car. A moment later, the trunk slammed decisively.

"Do you think she's mad?" I asked.

Allyson shrugged.

"I didn't want to roll down the window," I said.

Allyson went to the trunk to retrieve our food. When she returned, I asked, "Doesn't it feel like we're in a movie? Some apocalyptic story? Like, 'Beware! We have the plague!' "

"Yeah, maybe," she said.

We ate our dinner on my bed, which she has taken over in my absence, while we watched 50 First Dates. I'd forgotten how sweet Drew Barrymore is in that movie. Laughter is great medicine!

My salmon and mashed potatoes were so delicious! I'd have to say the potatoes were the highlight of my day. That, and watching a movie with Allyson.

I also felt a sense of accomplishment when I cleaned the litter on my own, but I was happy for Allyson's help with taking out the trash.

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Vitals: 97/56 (my normal), 93 bpm. Temperature: 98.0

Symptoms: headache, mild nausea, fatigue, mild nasal congestion, mild sore throat

Coronavirus Day 4 - Dehydration is No Joke

On Saturday morning, I slept until the light was streaming through the windows of my sick room. I'd woken up many times due to sliding down my steeply elevated bed until my feet were dangling off the edge. Each time, I squinted against the light and remembered my friend Pam's admonition to stay hydrated. "I should drink some water," I'd think. But then I'd climb back to the top of the bed and sink back into sleep. 

I finally opened my eyes a little after 10, more than 14 hours since I'd gone to bed. When I sat up, I was overwhelmed with weakness. I finished off the last five swallows in my stainless steel cup and breathed deeply for a minute or two, legs dangling off the side of the bed. 

At last I stepped into my slippers and shuffled across the house to my bathroom. Sitting on the toilet, I was seized with vertigo, and my heart thumped in alarm. I'd forgotten to bring my phone with me, and I didn't want to end up like the poor old woman in the Life Alert commercial who says, "Help! I've fallen and I can't get up." 

As I leaned against the wall and waited for it to pass, I realized what must be wrong with me. I'd gone too long without drinking anything, especially since I'd had a fever when I went to sleep. I just needed to make it to the kitchen and drink some coconut water.

I slowly rose to my feet, only to collapse onto my hands and knees. Uninjured, I knelt with my forehead on the tile for a couple of minutes, then pulled my pants up and stumbled to the sink to wash my hands. 

I made it as far as the living room before I started to see stars. Literally blind, I shuffled to where I knew the chair must be and fell into it. Now I was wondering if I'd need to go to the ER for an IV, like my friend Pam's brother-in-law when he had Covid and forgot to drink fluids.

I figured all I needed was to get some water down. Aside from the weakness and vertigo, my symptoms actually seemed better than the day before. After resting a few minutes on the chair, I was able to walk to the kitchen without incident. I sat at the table for a couple more minutes and then poured myself some water and some cold cereal with homemade cashew milk.

I was too nauseated to eat much, but I felt a little stronger after my meager breakfast. My blood pressure was terribly low at 65/48, so I carefully returned to bed. There, I sipped water and napped through the day, along with both of my cats. Arwen seemed content to nest between my calves, while CiCi was a comforting, squishy weight on my belly. 

In the afternoon, Ethan picked up some food for us at Panera Bread, plus some Puffs Plus tissues. The chicken soup was salty and very delicious. This was the first meal I'd enjoyed in four days. I was also blessed by my friend Pam's husband, who picked up a new charger cable for my phone after CiCi chewed the old one up. I was so grateful not to be out of communication.

By 6 p.m., my blood pressure was 88/61, not too far off my usual normal. (Due to my hypothyroidism, my blood pressure is usually 90-something over 60-something.)

That evening, I had enough energy to feed the cats and clean the litter boxes with some help from Allyson. After that, we watched a movie together. That was a nice break from the boredom. 

All in all, it wasn't a bad day.

P.S. Please learn from my mistake. If you get sick with Covid-19 or the flu, don't let yourself sleep too long without drinking any fluids.

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Vitals: 65/48, 77 beats per minute; 88/61, 86 bpm. Temperature: 99.3 to 99.5

Symptoms: low-grade fever, headache, mild nausea, vertigo, fatigue, mild nasal congestion, mild sore throat

Coronavirus Day 3 - A Surly Nurse

When I woke up around 8 on Friday morning, my fever was nearly gone (around 99.5) and my joint pain had resolved. I still felt nauseated but was able to prepare and eat hot buckwheat cereal with bananas, peanut butter, and kefir (drinkable goat yogurt). I was grateful that I enjoyed the flavor; unlike 86% of Covid-19 patients, I had not lost my sense of taste or smell. That bit of food eased the nausea, but I needed a two-hour nap after all that effort.

I slept off and on all through the day. While I was awake, I enjoyed the pleasant surroundings of my designated sick room, Allyson's old room which contains a bed with an adjustable base. If you've been reading a very long time, you might remember how much fun we had redecorating that room. She has since outgrown the ocean theme, but I haven't. The many shades of blue and green are quite relaxing, and the shells, painted dresser, and orca wallpaper border all remind me of the many loved ones who helped us transform the room. 

The other great comfort was the cats, who worked rotating shifts to keep me calm and quiet. Each time Arwen's shift was over, CiCi gave her a forceful shove off the bed before taking her place on my lap. If you ever saw Garfield knock Odie off a table, you know exactly how that looked. Arwen responded with a pitiful shriek and then meekly left the room. 

Although I wish CiCi would treat Arwen, her onetime surrogate mother, with the kindness she deserves, I couldn't resist giving Naughty Cat her turn. I reveled in her unusual affection for an hour or more, but finally I got cocky and petted her a bit too long. Without a warning, she whirled around and bit my hand with the rapidity of a rattlesnake strike. This little nurse definitely has room for improvement in her bedside manner!

The rest of my day was unremarkable aside from receiving notice of my positive test result that evening. 

At bedtime, after spending the entire day in bed and many hours napping, I was disappointed to find that my temperature was now higher than the previous day, at 101.1. I also found myself unable to clean the litter boxes; just feeding the cats left me exhausted. I turned in at 8 and hoped, once more, that I could sleep this off. 

====================

Vitals: 96/61, 96 beats per minute. Temperature: from 99.5 to 101.1.

Symptoms: fever, chills, headache, mild nausea, dizziness, fatigue, mild nasal congestion, mild sore throat

Coronavirus Day 2 - A Sweet Nurse

When I woke up Thursday morning, I stumbled to the bathroom feeling a little nauseated and rather dizzy. I noticed that my thighs felt quite warm.

I went to Allyson's room and asked for the thermometer; she'd been battling cold symptoms since the prior Saturday, but she never had any fever.

My temperature was 100.3 degrees, quite elevated compared to my typical 97.5. I also had a headache and a mild sore throat. I felt too nauseated to eat, but I made myself drink as much water as I could force down. Then I called myself in sick.

I called Allyson in sick as well; this was the first day she had not felt up to attending online classes. Shortly after this, we learned that her Covid-19 test had come back positive. 

I couldn't sleep in my bed because lying flat made me too nauseated. So I spent the entire day propped up on the couch, wrapped up in fluffy pajama pants, fluffy socks, and a blanket. Most of the time, this sweet nurse kept me company.

I ordered some canned soup, coconut water, and toilet paper online. When it arrived, I didn't feel up to eating yet, so I just drank some of the coconut water and heated Allyson's soup in the microwave.

At 2:00 I had a virtual visit with my doctor, who warned me to watch for diarrhea, vomiting, or shortness of breath. He said I should get tested and assume that I had Covid-19 in the meantime. "There's nothing we can do for you at this point. Just drink plenty of fluids and get lots of rest. Call if you get worse," he said.

I drove 15 minutes to the drive-through testing site run by the county for a free mouth-swab test. There was no line, and I was thankful to get in an out within 10 minutes because the sun beaming on me made me feel even more sick and dizzy on this unseasonably warm winter day. 

As hot as I'd been in the car, by the time I climbed back onto the couch, I was freezing. My temperature was now 100.8. 

By now, Allyson had gone to her dad's house. I didn't like being alone in the house because I'd read too many horror stories about cases suddenly turned deadly in adults who are single like me. I called my mom, and she prayed for me. That made me feel better.

My neck was stiff from my awkward position on the couch, so I decided to sleep in what is now the cats' room, on a lovely bed with an adjustable base that is usually covered with a clear plastic table cloth to protect it from the cats' claws. The only obstacle between me and my comfy bed was two dirty litter boxes and two hungry cats. I rallied my strength and fed the cats, then sat down to catch my breath before dumping the boxes into their sifting pans and dumping the mess into the Litter Genie. I sat down again and then carried the large plastic pans and the litter boxes into the hall and the living room, where they will remain for the duration of this illness. 

My teeth chattered as I washed my hands, and I sank into bed gratefully and pulled the covers up to my chin. I raised the head of the bed so that I was halfway to a seated position; that kept the nausea at bay. I'd neglected to shut the door, so the cats were both in bed with me through the night, but they didn't bother me too much with their restlessness. I slept pretty well, considering.

===============================

Vitals: 113/69, 95 beats per minute, temp 100.3 to 100.8

Symptoms: fever, chills, joint pain, headache, mild nausea, dizziness, fatigue, mild nasal congestion, mild sore throat

Coronavirus Day 1

This past Wednesday, coronavirus symptoms began abruptly, just before bedtime. I'd been sneezing violently for nearly a week, but I'm pretty sure that was just allergies; this happens to me every January and February when the mountain cedar blooms.

The first thing I noticed that evening was that most of my joints were aching. My left foot hurt enough to cause a limp, and my left thumb was very sore. The skin on my left forearm was burning from the inside out. I felt a lot like I'd felt when my Hashimoto's thyroiditis had flared up in 2019. I figured I must have eaten something that bothered my immune system, such as gluten.

My plan was to get in bed early and sleep it off, but sleep was elusive because I felt more and more sore and restless through the night. The pain in my hips kept me from resting much, but I did manage to sleep fitfully until the light woke me on Thursday.

==================================

Symptoms: severe sneezing, joint pain

Never Forget

Over the last year or so, my physical, mental, and spiritual health has steadily improved. Despite all the challenges with Covid-19 and the resulting isolation, in recent weeks I've recognized hope and joy blossoming in my heart again.

Against this bright backdrop, the shocking events in our capitol last Wednesday seemed even darker. For the first time in months, anxiety squeezed my chest, and a heaviness weighed me down as I struggled to put together something for dinner. A familiar question that had plagued me for months last year resumed its oppression: "What is the point?" 

Now it was not only my life that was falling apart, but apparently my country also. And all I could do was watch it crumble.

These bleak thoughts wrapped my mind and heart in darkness until bedtime, when I finally spent a few minutes in prayer. Following advice from a recent entry in Jesus Calling, the devotional that has been so instrumental in rebuilding my faith, I pondered the power of Jesus and His infinite love and said, "I trust you, Jesus." Quieted, I sank gratefully into sleep.

On Thursday, though, I couldn't resist the pull of news stories and videos that portrayed the horror more vividly. Tears rolled down my cheeks when I saw a "Jesus Saves" flag waving amidst scenes of violence. What made my heart most sick was the intensified divisiveness I observed on social media. How could it be that the terrorist attacks on 9/11 had drawn our country together so poignantly, yet this attack from within had driven the wedge between opposing groups even deeper? Where would it all end?