Nothing like throwing yourself into full December swing of holiday hopes and dreams and then....
WHAMO! Covid-19 happens! I knew it could be a possibility and a risk to possibly contract it because I do work at a nursing care facility and we did have Covid-19 in our building. But, we wear masks and shields...and at home, Matt and I wash our hands, sanitize, don't really go anywhere, and pick up our groceries from online shopping. We just don't know the day or moment in time where one or both of us contracted Covid-19. There are so many "ifs" and "what ifs" and "scenarios" that it just becomes a discussion about what comes first, the chicken or the egg? Needless to say, this diagnosis put a damper on lots of plans for December. Matt and I were both positive on Dec. 21st. But, our symptoms actually started before that. But, I had been testing negative before that. I get tested twice a week due to the nature of my career. It does come out to my benefit in catching things early, as long as the tests come back accurate.
So, when I say "plans", I mean recording music for the Christmas eve service and videos for my YouTube channel, decorate for Christmas, being well enough to edit the church services, working on some work projects, and taking a week long vacation to different rooms of my home. I hadn't had a week long vacation since 2019. I waited all year to have time off to enjoy with Matt. And while I was off work for Covid-19, I was ill and it wasn't relaxing or fun. Plus, I've been trying to play catch up with all home things and work things that were left behind while I was sick.
At first, I thought that I was possibly coming down with bronchitis. Because I continued to test negative, even with a cough and some chest congestion, I figured it could be something else. But then my symptoms got worse and then I lost my sense of taste and smell. That was the weirdest thing ever. It literally just "snapped" off. I could taste my breakfast and as soon as I tried to eat anything for lunch, it was gone. I could tell you if something was sweet, salty, savory, sour, or umami, but if I had my eyes closed, I couldn't tell you what it was that I was eating. Nothing had flavor. So, it was the only time that I could say that Matt's cooking was "Meh". His cooking is NEVER "Meh". I was so sad and disappointed that his Christmas eve dinner of baked potato, broccoli and Ham steak or Christmas day dinner of Prime Rib and Yorkshire pudding was probably delicious...but I didn't know it. I lost my appetite. I had to make myself eat anything. Not eating was making it worse. I was tired, just from getting up from bed. I had sinus and chest congestion and a couple other symptoms that weren't pleasant, either. I just had to take it day by day. Matt's symptoms were pretty similar, but his senses of taste and smell were still intact.
So, while we did get to spend time together, and yes, I was off work (well, I did work some from home), this wasn't a vacation. This was the first Christmas Eve that Matt actually had off in 14 years. We both were able to enjoy being at home with no where to be or go. And while we were not feeling well, we tried to enjoy the evening anyway.
There were some great holiday moments though when we were able to chat and video call family in Oregon, Minnesota, New York and Germany on Christmas Day. My nephew is the cutest little boy ever and it was so fun to video chat with him and see him open up his new ukulele that we got for him. The creative songs that ensued afterwards were just as entertaining. Don't believe me? Here is a clip:
Owen is going to be 4 years old in a few weeks and he is such a smart, sweet little boy that has Aunt Kimmy wrapped around his finger. I love getting to video chat with him. It is my favorite thing in this whole world.
So, fast forward a bit....I regained my sense of smell and taste on Tuesday, Dec. 29th. It came back just like it left...I couldn't taste anything for breakfast and when I ate lunch, I could taste everything again. I know there was a possibility that it would take weeks, even months for that to return. I was able to enjoy our New Year's Day traditional meal of Corned Beef and cabbage. We both still have some lingering symptoms, cough and sinus, but it's minimal, for now. We hope there won't be any chronic or lingering effects, but that is something that Covid-19 can leave behind. I plan to get the vaccine at the end of January, so hopefully, that helps from getting this again.
I'm going to step on my soapbox for a second..., Please, wear a mask. Yes, sure, you have a right to not wear one and I know some people say they have medical issues and don't like to wear them (and if you have a medical issue, then you probably shouldn't be out anyway), but don't take away someone's right to stay healthy because you refuse to protect others around you. Wearing a mask helps yourself a bit, but it definitely helps your neighbor more. Wearing a mask may also decrease the actual amount of Covid-19 you might inhale, ingest or catch, which in turn decreases the amount of Covid-19 your body has to fight off (and that's if your body can fight it off). It's a scary disease. It's not like the flu. The symptoms vary from mild to horrible and you don't know what your body is going to do, even after you recover. Please, just care about each other and do your best to protect the people with who you do have to come in contact. Wear a mask and social distance.
<Ok, stepping down off of the soap box> I hope to update this blog a lot more this year. I have a few things I would like to work on for 2021, health being one of them, but I would also like to produce more blogs and videos this year, as well. I hope to make more time for writing and creating on my social media platforms. I enjoy it. Since I've been editing our church videos since March, and I enjoy doing that, I've picked up a thing or two last year in teaching myself how to video edit and I would like to produce better YouTube videos for my channel, as well. Stay tuned!
I wish you all good health and peace in this new year and may 2021 be full of blessings for you and your family. The blessings are definitely there, but we have to take the time to look for them, sometimes. Sometimes, the outside world screams so much at us that we can't hear ourselves think and we lose sight of what is sometimes right in front of us.
Thank you for taking a few minutes to read this blog update. If you would like to be updated when I upload more blogs, you can follow this blog Kimandaukulele.blogspot.com or subscribe to my YouTube channel with the same name @Kimandaukulele.
Happy New Year!
