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I completely understand why COVID is so infectious. Today I feel like I have the very mildest of colds. I woke up, had my morning coughing fit, then nothing. Headache is gone. Brain feels back to 100%. Only remnant is that my physical stamina is not yet at 100%. I went out again to water the garden and get some air, and felt tired after. But, everything is still looking beautiful!

There are a lot of good things about forced isolation. That first day of COVID was absolutely miserable, and I’m glad no one was around to see that mess. But as my energy recovered and as the brain fog lifted, I was able to catch up on my planner, complete some back-to-school paperwork for Kenzie, balance the budget, and generally get a lot of personal administrative stuff taken care of. It always feels as though there’s never enough time for that, that something always gets dropped. But with five days of nothing else sidetracking me away from the tedium of paperwork, it all got done.

I also got a preview of how it would be, when the tables are turned, and Kenzie is taking care of me. Outside of my isolation room, we set up a little TV table, where exchanges take place. Kenzie brought me a bowl of grapes yesterday, and delivered it with this. As she describes it, the smiley emoji is beating up the COVID emoji.

There are also a lot of bad things about forced isolation. No family hugs. Missing the funeral of a dear friend’s mom. (I love you, Sassy. *hugs*) Not being able to cook a full meal. Not being able to enjoy a meal with my family. Not being able to snuggle the pets. Not seeing the sun shine off the lake on my drive to work.

But all in all, my body probably did need the forced downtime, and I’m so glad we caught it early enough so that I didn’t pass it on to Jeff and Kenzie.

Oh! I did have a little fun with Jeff and Kenzie yesterday. I had one of those cookie pizzas delivered from Papa John’s. I had them leave it inside our foyer. When I knew it was there, I texted Jeff and asked for a chocolate chip cookie. He responded, “Sure, but I don’t think we have any.” I told him to go check the foyer, and when he was out there, I used the talk function on our Nest cam and spooked the crap out of him. So that was fun. Kenzie got a kick out of that.

Laughter is indeed the best medicine.

If you know someone going through COVID or isolation, here are some things that really helped me. (Some of these links are affiliate links, so if you do purchase anything, I’d earn a couple pennies. In case you’re wondering how many pennies I’ve earned through this, I’d say…over the past five years…a whopping $0.43.)

Crockpot Electric Lunch Box
I have always had one of these at work, but it was invaluable during isolation. The only thing I wanted to eat was spicy, broth-y foods. It comes with this insert, and I would fill it with broth, a cake of my favorite millet and brown rice ramen, and a handful of spinach. Pop the insert in the pot, and it’d be ready in about 30 minutes. And if I didn’t feel like eating then, it could hold the food warm without worry of overboiling or overcooking.
40 oz. Hydro Flask
I drank so much water. As someone who normally has trouble hitting my daily water goals, I was chugging water like a champ. I easily drank over 200 oz. of water a day. I also didn’t want anything except water. This particular bottle is great, because it has a widemouth lid, making it easy to add ice. There’s also no straw, so easy to clean.
Gin Gins Chew
A wonderful friend dropped these off, and said they helped her through COVID. We compared notes, and found that we both really craved the same flavors. The common theme was heat…so things that were spicy, hot, sour…yang foods. And thinking back on how cold I was those first two days, where I simply couldn’t get warm no matter how many blankets I had on, this makes sense. (Also, her husband Ben is a redhead, thus her apologetic post-it. I’m sorry I laughed, Ben. I ate these with remorse.)
Konjac Jelly
I always keep a few of these in the fridge for Kenzie’s snacks, and am not normally drawn to them for myself. But when I was sick, these really appealed to me. I found out later that in Traditional Chinese Medicine, konjac is used to neutralize toxins and help with phlegm. It was also really soothing for my cough-fatigued throat. This isn’t like regular Jell-o. The texture is firmer and it honestly tastes a million times better.

The same friend who brought me Gin Gins also brought me a quart of Tom Kha soup and it totally hit the spot.

Only 1.5 more days until I’m out of isolation! I already tested negative today. Yay!

Carolyn

Distracted, working mom seeking short escapes from a hectic life via quick crafts and fast food. Sure, she could meditate, after she cleans the house. Hahaha...no.

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