I Suppose It Could Have Been Worse

After my 5 nights in Bend followed by 11 nights of quarantine waiting for a negative test, which also included 6 days of school missed for the kids, I can confidently say Martin is unmatched in his fatherly commitment and capabilities. The man was stoic through it all. So when he said he was canceling his trip to Europe to see his best friend (scheduled to start just 4 days after my release) I was heartbroken. The trip was originally planned for May 2020 and was finally rescheduled after so many conflicts and obstacles. Knowing how sacred my trips with the girls are to me, I wanted and needed Martin to do this for himself. He needed a break, a chance to recharge and catch up with his best friend.

But alas I couldn’t convince him otherwise. And selfishly, he made the right decisions. It could have been a lot worse if he had gone.

Let’s just do a quick recap of the last few days.

Wednesday afternoon we got the dreaded phone call that Alva had close contact with someone at school and since she isn’t vaccinated she would have to stay home until Tuesday the following week. By Wednesday evening, three more cases had been confirmed between Alva and Oskar’s classes which constituted an outbreak so both classes were officially cancelled until Tuesday. It could have been worse though if Martin wasn’t around… this week and next are the busiest for me at work and while I could have made it work, having the tag team efforts was a huge relief. Three Covid tests later and Martin Oskar and Alva were negative.

Thursday evening Alva barely ate dinner and was ready to go to bed before 7pm. One Covid test and an immediate second line confirmed Alva had tested positive; Oskar and Martin were still negative. Everyone masked up while I packed up clothes, books and toiletries for me and Alva… we were moving downstairs until she tested negative. But it could have been worse. If Martin was gone I would have stayed upstairs and continued to expose Oskar to Covid.

Friday Oskar and Martin still tested negative and I shirked off work. Alva and I spent the day watching TV, snuggling on the couch and napping. Friday night Oskar and Martin picked up sushi and delivered some to our back door.

Saturday morning Martin woke up a little achy but still tested negative. Things got worse for him that morning though and, a doctor administered Covid test that afternoon confirmed he was positive; Oskar was still negative. When they got home we did the apartment shuffle. I packed up my stuff and moved upstairs to the Covid free zone while Martin moved in with Alva. I cooked dinner and delivered it to the patients downstairs.

Sunday morning Oskar seemed fine but sure as shit when we took the daily test for Oskar that dreaded second pink line showed up ever so faintly. I say dreaded because no one wants Covid, but in reality I was kind of relieved. At least now the clock starts for us to be done. But it could have been worse? We were now all together again. Oskar and Alva were super excited to see each other again (for about 30 minutes) and the TV watching marathon has continued.