COVID came to our house, again

This time, it was a 10-year old, who is fine now, thanks

Last week, we went to a local community center and swam, played basketball and worked up a good sweat. As we were leaving, my grandson complained of a sore throat.

He is not a complainer and he is usually as healthy as a horse, but by the following morning, my vaccinated grandson (he and his twin sister are in the minority on this) had a fever and severe congestion. The first home COVID test was negative, but the next day, the test showed that my grandson had joined the more than 12 million children who’ve contracted the coronavirus since the pandemic began.

His mom started some chicken soup, and we all got tested and stayed put until all our results came back negative. We settled in for frequent FaceTime calls and texts and goofy memes.

His fever stuck around a few days. He still has a pain in his chest, and the congestion is still there but following these protocols, I went to see him this week. He is on the mend. He couldn’t taste the strawberries or cantaloupe I brought him, but he was game for doing his online social studies homework (an activity I absolutely love). We studied the Powhatan and Wampanoag people and discussed whether they really wanted to share land with the invaders, or if they were being strategic in the short term, without realizing the hordes that were to come.

And then he was off and running on his video games, dude-ing it out with his buddies, two of whom are also home with COVID.

COVID has not passed us by. Last August, my vaccinated husband also contracted the virus just before third shots were approved. I have never seen him so sick.

Several times, I have thought how fortunate we are that the vaccination was in those beloved bodies, doing its thing, and how fortunate we’ve been in Connecticut that yahoos like the CT GQP — who on Wednesday were exulting over the governor’s announcement that school mask mandates would end later this month — haven’t had much sway until now. I mean, free the smiles? And then what? Trap the lungs? I remain severely and forever disappointed in this group, which took to Twitter yesterday to squeeze this one out:

So let me say this one more time: I am so very grateful for absolutely everyone who had even the smallest thing to do with creating this life-saving vaccination. I include the person who pushed the trays between labs, the people who swept the labs at night, the scientists in the lab, the truck drivers who brought the vaccine to the pharmacy, I mean everyone, up and down the line. Simply? Thank you.