It has been a weird last few weeks (since COVID got us!), but, thankfully, we’re all doing fine (with no lingering symptoms), and this post is an attempt to quickly reflect a bit on the last few weeks.
As time went on after Katie tested positively for COVID, I continued to take rapid tests (through CVS), repeatedly testing negative. Over this last weekend, my son and I both took rapid tests—and tested negative, again. So, our son returned to school; I returned to work after being home with him for the last two weeks; and Katie, admirably/toughly, returned to work (her internship as a school librarian). There were some weird spots around days 9-10 when Katie still had a fever but otherwise felt better; fortunately, it ended up going down.
It was a weird two weeks! Maybe that is all that I have to say, but I mentioned to two friends that if there was any silver lining, it was the time with my little one. It is weird to think of COVID affecting one’s self or family in terms of any positive elements. But, having an incredible partner, I have, simply, done less caretaking for our child, especially when he was an infant, but, also, in smaller ways, as he has grown older. The last two weeks were a rare time during which I had to care for him full-time, and not just for a day or two (we had traveled to my parents without Katie before, and I have camped with him for two nights), but for almost two weeks. It was, looking back and with Katie doing well, kind of a special time, one in which I learned about myself and my ability to care for my son, and about my son.
I recognize that there are some potential blind spots around my saying this. One is that I was able to take time off from work - and not face many/any negative repercussions for doing so. Many people around the country and around the world are in far from a similar situation. Moreover, as a male, in some ways, I received positive feedback for doing this (e.g., from family members), whereas if Katie were in the same situation, she would likely have faced questions around why she wasn’t also working. So, I’m really thankful, and I don’t think I deserve much if any credit, and in some ways it was a necessary thing to do, and one that I am glad I was able, and … I have more empathy for parents caring for their children, especially those in fraught work or personal situations while also doing this.