And Now We Have Just Survived Covid for the Third Time

and Isaiah was about as much help and support as 5 years ago.

Facebook Memory from September 27, 2019.

Gene and I have known we had a lot on the schedule this weekend and Gene is flying to Colorado on Monday for the week so I always go into this panic state when he is going to be away for more than a couple of nights and especially when he flies. I hate flying and I am always convinced he is going to crash and die so I have to put all that worry into my flurry of working like crazy. Last night was Isaiah’s football game in Giles, tonight is the VT game, tomorrow Gene and I are going to a festival in Burke’s Garden to see some old friends. Been wanting to go for years so we decided this is the year. Sunday is our anniversary. He has a history of having work conflicts with our anniversary. So even semi-retired he can still manage it. Monday I will take Isaiah to school, get home, take care of animals and then drive him to the airport. Friday I pick him up and we go straight to Richlands for Isaiah’s football game. So every minute of every day this week has been planned to the limit but I have Isaiah. Each week I try to convince Isaiah if he would bring me his game socks and game day shorts on Friday night or at the latest on Saturday morning, I would wash them, iron his khaki shorts, he could put his socks in his football bag and have them ready. Oh but no! He did bring me the socks but he didn’t bring me the shorts until Wednesday afternoon. So I washed his shorts on Wednesday night. Right before bed he brought me his sweatband that he forgot to turn in with his uniform and asked if I could wash it and have it ready by yesterday. So yesterday morning, I got up at 5:45, started his French Toast, and ironed his shorts. I went from the griddle to the ironing board until both were done. Maybe that is why I didn’t notice the missing button on his shorts. When he put on his shorts 5 minutes before we were supposed to leave for school, he remembered the button came off but he knew exactly where it was. He went to get the button while I went to get the needle and thread. The button was missing so then I had to get my spare button jar and find a button and sew it on the shorts. This is one of those times when I hope Isaiah has a child just like him. Gene let the chickens out and watered the garden so I could take care of Isaiah and get him to school. I sent Gene to run errands while I washed tomatoes, cored tomatoes, cooked tomatoes and made tomato juice. I finished laundry and worked like a maniac. Gene did bring me lunch. By then I had found Isaiah’s sweatband in the dryer with the load of white clothes. I had called in a prescription at CVS a day or two ago and at the time I was asked by the automated attendant if I wanted to get my flu shot when I picked up my prescription. I said yes and then was told the shot would be waiting for me when I got to CVS. This is where it went wrong. I suggested we drop off the sweat band at school and go to CVS to pick up my prescription and get my flu shot. I had this image in my head of this flu shot laying on the counter with my name on it and the employees fussing because I had not picked it up. I needed to go by Becki Calfee‘s and pick up two lockets.

Then I would come home and make rhubarb jam that was chopped up and in the pot on the stove waiting to be cooked. It gets crazier……………..

Part 2. Got to CVS and Cody was the pharmacist working. Always a pleasure and my favorite pharmacy tech was there too. So the fun began, Gene decided to get his flu shot as well. They had no idea the automated attendant asks you about the flu shot or says it will be ready when you get to the pharmacy. lol My shot was not laying on the counter waiting for me. They had to open a box because they were not sure they had Gene’s flu shot. I was confused, men get one kind of shot and women get another? They found his shot and then realized he got the same shot as me. What? Folks over 65 get a different flu shot and since I was 63 and usually the husband is older they assumed Gene was at least 65. lol Finally someone thought he looked older than me. While filling out our little form, Gene asked what was the other vaccine we needed to get and I responded Shingles but it was not listed on their sign. They want everyone over 60 to get it but can’t seem to produce enough. Then Cody said well we do have some if you want to get that at the same time. We did and that meant another set of little forms. Now remember, Gene faints when he gets a shot or anything involving needles. So it always adds a level of excitement to these routine things. I get mine and then they had Gene sit in a chair and gave him his. No issues. I have seen that man faint lying down but yesterday was a good day. We got home, make rhubarb jam, do all the animal chores, sell 8 dozen eggs, get ready and go to Giles for football game. Isaiah didn’t play much but he did tackle a player and help cause a fumble and his name was called out over the loudspeaker. A big deal to Isaiah. By the time we leave the game, we can barely use our left arms. But we stop at Walmart and get mineral spirits so Gene can put another coat of primer on the study today. Get to high school and pick up Isaiah, get home and then….. it was one of those moments when you just wish you could live long enough for your child to have one just like them. Isaiah informed me he was too tired to go close up chickens. I said Isaiah, do you know how hard I worked today and he said, not as hard as him, he had to go to school all day and he had to use his brain and I didn’t have to use mine all day. Gene did tell him it was obvious he was not using his at the time. lol Gene’s arm was worse than mine so I went to the chicken yard and closed up all the chickens, etc. Have I told you I do not like teenagers? Oh Lord, give me patience! And let me live to see him get a little bit smarter. Then we went to bed. I have no idea what time we got sick. Our fevers were so high I think we were both delirious. We chilled and we burned up. At about 3:30 I was so cold and I snuggled up to Gene who was hot as fire and about the time I got warm and thought I could go back to sleep, he turned over and trapped me between him and Trooper and when he did, I got cramps in both thighs. I couldn’t get out of the bed and I was screaming and screaming and the cramps wouldn’t turn loose and I couldn’t get up. I really wanted to kill him. If I could have gotten my hands on a weapon, he would be dead. This morning he swears it never happened. Trooper was never in our bedroom and not in our bed and Gene says he was up and down all night sick and letting dogs in and out of the house so there is no way he slept through me screaming. But both thighs are so sore from the cramps. Then he told me my phone was ringing. My cell phone charges beside the bed and I keep the sound turned off at night. But Gene insists it is ringing, and I can get the phone but I have knocked my glasses off during the night so I can’t see my phone. I managed to find another pair of glasses, put them on, just to prove to Gene my phone was not ringing. Then he says it must have been his but it wasn’t. I think his ears were ringing. At this point he manages to get up and get the thermometer and takes my temperature. Never took his. Mine was 101.3. I sent him for Tylenol. I know I told him at least 3 places where it was but he found it in the medicine cabinet. In the meantime, he says I had Alexa send Emily a message that I was so sick I thought I was dying and needed hospice care. I didn’t even know I could have Alexa send messages. In the meantime, we woke Isaiah up to go to school and he was sick, with a headache and all I could think was he can’t take whatever this is to school so I sent him back to bed. when he felt better he fed all the animals for me. I must have been pitiful. We will not be getting our second Shingles vaccine at the same time.