Sun. 1st--This was a very special Fast Sunday. It was the celebration of ten years since the Caldwell Branch had been organized. Technically, Nov. 9th was the anniversary, but our local leaders decided to earmark the first Sunday as the birthday so that the members could bear their testimonies about the special feelings they had about the previous decade. Our amazing Branch president, Derrold Foster, has been the branch president of the ENTIRE decade and he doesn't complain one whit about it. He's such a gentle giant with good ole' southern charm and integrity. We have enjoyed him very much.
*One of JJ's goals in the children and youth program of the church was to learn a magic card trick. I wouldn't normally let him do a google search on the computer for such things on the Sabbath, but because it was something that he wanted to learn and grow in, I relented and by George, he can do a card trick! It was cute to see how proud he was of himself.
Mon. 2nd--I became more official in my new job. I got my ID badge!
*Calvin had his "last" baseball game for the fall season. I say "last" because we were told they'd only have a couple games a week through the end of October. What made it really interesting is that he played the same two teams. There was only one other CS team and then they brought down a team from Bryan, with a roster of high schoolers. Calvin just turned 12 before he started this season and he was playing against kids who were up to four or five years older than he was. They got slaughtered 21 to 2 one night. And I mean honestly, can those high schoolers really feel good about a win like that when the opposing team is several years younger? Haha. But Calvin's team never gave up. Besides, that's how you get better--playing against people who are better than you.
When he was up to bat, he got a ball on the first pitch, and then smacked that puppy out in left field on the second pitch. He made it to first base and even got an RBI. Then he stole second base. The next play was a first for most of us. Calvin and his teammate, who was on 3rd base, both advanced at the direction of the umpire because the pitcher had "balked." This is the definition of balk according to Wikipedia: In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve a pitcher pretending to pitch when he has no intention of doing so. When the pitcher was called out on this illegal motion, the players in the outfield got to advance one base, taking Calvin to 3rd base. Then it happened again! So Calvin got to trot on home.
Tues. 3rd--Election Day. Or rather, Election Week, as Calvin put it. We did our civic duty and let our voice be heard. God is in charge and honestly, I didn't think much of it at all that day. Cooper, however, was very upset by the standings around 8pm that evening. Jared and I had to talk him off a ledge a little bit. He's afraid our entire country is going to be shut down if Biden takes office. What was troubling to me was when the state of Texas threatened to turn blue. I love my state because of its conservative values and love of God. Fortunately, it stayed predominately Republican.
*Calvin was also recording a performance in choir for the upcoming Veteran's Day and dressed in his Sunday best for it.
*I got to spend more time with Nathan in the CASL 1 class at River Bend. :)
*So that explains it! ;) Haha!
Thurs. 5th--Crazy Hair Day at school for JJ. Some people do brilliant things for this occasion. But this is as creative and crazy as we get here at our house. His ponytail is growing.
*Karcyn woke up with a fever. So of course she stayed home. Jared was working an extra shift that day, but was able to pull some strings and get her into the respiratory clinic to get tested for strep, flu, and covid before he had to start at the occ med clinic. Because Jared took her in before the doors opened, there were no nurses there, so HE got to be the one to swab Karcyn for all those tests. The covid one is especially egregious I hear. We quickly learned that strep and flu were both negative. Later that evening, a nurse called to let us know that her covid test was also negative. So she was just fighting a virus of another sort and would, fortunately, only be out for two days and have the weekend to recuperate.
Sat. 7th--Cooper and Calvin went to bowling league and then a volunteer, whose son also bowls, invited the boys to stay after and practice some more together. As soon as Calvin got home, he changed into his church clothes because he was participating in the choir solo contest (usually solo and ensemble, but with covid, they got rid of the ensembles). This was his first time he would be singing for a judge. On the way to the school, he was shaking off some anxious energy and said, "Man, I'm nervous." I smiled and asked, "Have you said a prayer yet?" He said no and quietly bowed his head and offered a silent prayer. It was very touching for me to see his humility and faith in this way.
The judge told Calvin that he did well and suggested being more familiar with the commas and periods in the song so that he can breathe accordingly. She also told him he has a beautiful voice and to keep singing--the exact same thing we have told him. I'm grateful for the validation and hope he listens to her. Calvin earned a 1 Superior rating, just as I knew he would.
Sun. 8th--One of the doctors that works at the covid clinic with Jared got the coronavirus in the middle of October. He was hospitalized at the end of October. While Jared was at work on this particular day, he called to give me an update on Dr. Roa. They had already intubated him (put him on a ventilator) because he wasn't breathing on his own. The doctors were not optimistic. Dr. Roa's condition was so grim, that his doctor told the hospital to call his wife, that she needed to be there to say goodbye. This is significant because #1, during covid--no one can see their loved ones. However, Dr. Roa's wife was already covid positive so it was important #2, that she be there with him before he passed.
Jared and I were stunned at this news. We had been praying for weeks for Dr. Roa. But the harsh reality was sinking in. While the providers at Jared's clinic only started testing positive for covid a couple months ago, it is still a very risky situation. Dr. Roa is only seven years older than Jared and was training to run a marathon. Knowing his colleague has been in the hospital because of the covid virus has understandably elevated Jared's stress and anxiety levels as he continues to work at the same place where Dr. Roa contracted covid.
After we hung up, I went to my room to cry and prayed that Dr. Roa would be spared. Even if he does make it, he'll need months and months of rehab before coming back to work. If he wants to come back to work. His lungs are trashed. There was also a question of whether or not the hospital would pay for medical bills associated with covid for their medical providers. The jury is still out on that one which only made going to work even harder for Jared. Medical bills of that magnitude would crush us financially. Even with the insurance we have. Jared told me that if he got as sick as Dr. Roa, or worse, he strongly advised me to sue the poop out of the hospital, and insist they write off the patient responsibility of the medical bills if, in the end, they are not considered a workman's compensation claim. We also went through all three of Jared's current life insurance policies and outlined what each one should be specifically used for. Jared wanted assurance that I would be okay. I told him I would and to not worry about us in that way. Dr. Roa's situation, one that could have just as easily been Jared, had us a bit rattled.
Mon. 9th--Jared learned my cardiologist, Dr. Colato, contracted covid and was also hospitalized. In addition, the sleep med doctor (pulmonologist), Dr. Spencer, who diagnosed Jake's narcolepsy and who Cooper will see in February for his sleep issues, had covid, as well. Holy schnikey. I only know about five physicians total in the hospital system and three of them have covid, two of which are hospitalized. The situation is definitely intensifying for the providers here in College Station.
Wed. 11th--I celebrated the wonderful land of America and my favorite veteran--my dad! I could go on and on about his military service, but in short, he was a fighter pilot in the Navy (flying the A4 Skyhawk--the migs in the movie Top Gun) stationed on the USS Kitty Hawk and flew 230 combat missions over North and South Vietnam. Such a stud! But even more impressive to me are the six church missions (for a total of nine years) that he and my mom have served all over the world during retirement to help bring others closer to Christ. My dad is my hero.
*This is my new team--Pegan, Rebecca, and me! Yes, I'm the tallest at 5 feet 6 inches. :)
Fri. 13th--Friday the 13th, 2020 version was actually a pretty good day! The sun was shining. It was an easy day for me at work. Jared had the day off. We had pizza, a fun treat for our family, and then Karole came over for a movie night. She made her famous popcorn and we all watched "The Spy Nextdoor" with Jackie Chan. We had some good laughs!
Sat. 14th--Jared worked an extra shift at the clinic to help cover for Dr. Roa. The boys had bowling and I actually went TO the grocery store instead of doing an online order. I've learned that some of the things I get at the store are not available online. Which is just dumb. So I'm planning to go in person at least once a month, maybe twice, so I can get those items I'm missing. And to be honest, there are some things I forget to put on my list and pick up because I don't remember them unless I "see" them at the store. Now that I've switched my shopping day to Saturdays instead of Mondays, I can go in person early Sat. morning. I don't have the luxury to sleep in on Saturdays anymore, but that's okay. I'm slowly finding my groove.
*I sent Ruth Graham a chat book that I made about our experiences together and mailed it to her in Florida. In return, I received this adorable Santa ornament. Ruth remembered that I loved lighthouses!
*Cooper had another horror film to make for his AVP class and he had asked if he and his crew could use our house again from 5:30-9pm on Saturday night. Meaning the rest of us needed to be out of the house. We told him he could use the house, but weren't sure what we were going to do for 3 1/2 hours. As it turns out, our friends, the Linfords, from the branch, wanted to have us over for dinner and this evening would work out splendidly. However, I told Jennie that the only way I'd feel comfortable doing dinner in their home is if we wore masks and social-distanced while we ate. And the more I thought about it, the more I felt we should plan it for another time. Especially in light of Dr. Roa's recent developments. I talked it over with Jennie and she suggested making us a dessert we could eat while socially distanced. I thought that sounded great. After dinner at our house, we went to Sams Club to pick up some extra items for food storage before heading to the Linfords. They had set up their backyard for ice cream (and fruit with dip for our sugar-free treats) with two tables about 8-10 feet apart.
There was also a zipline, a Brazilian hammock, and a treehouse. Quinn is getting his doctorate in outdoor recreation. :) It was a beautiful evening--perfect to sit outside and enjoy with the kids playing. Calvin decided to climb the treehouse tree and got himself stuck for a few minutes. Quinn and I tried to guide him back down and eventually, he found his way.
We spent a little over two hours with them, in our masks, laughing and enjoying the night. It was a great way to pass the time.
*Cooper was wrapping up his filming when we got home and then said he and Lauren were going to watch the first two episodes of Mandalorian, season 1, while Jared and I decided to watch the most recent episode. But it was getting late and I was falling asleep. When I woke up again, it was midnight. Lauren had just left about a half-hour before. I went to the bathroom and when I came out, Jared was standing in the bedroom with a grim look on his face. He said he just took his temp and he was registering with a fever. He had also taken 800 mg of Motrin an hour before for some aches that were more pronounced than usual. So I put a mask on and went back to bed. There wasn't anything we could do until the morning anyway.
Sun. 15th--Jared went to get covid tested as soon as the respiratory clinic opened. He was getting tested for flu and would get the rapid nasal covid test they just started doing about a week ago. The rapid tests were effective. He called to tell me that he was positive for covid and flu B. We didn't even think it was possible to have flu and covid at the same time. Leave it to Jared to be the overachiever and get not one virus, but two! So into quarantine isolation he went--with the "necessities"--popcorn, two rolls of TP, cookies, and clorox wipes.
We talked about this moment many months ago...what we would do if someone got covid-19. As we previously decided this past summer, we moved Karcyn out of her room (the second master with a bathroom) and Jared moved in. He was in isolation and we were in quarantine.
Later that afternoon, Jared didn't have a fever anymore and aside from a little frustration and anxiety, he was feeling pretty good, all things considered.
Hard to believe that the last half of November--two whole weeks--was dedicated to coronavirus isolation/quarantine.
Mon. 16th--After receiving a prompting to do so that morning, I had the rest of the family mask up--even in the house. That isn't a requirement of quarantine, but I decided that if we're masked up and someone else starts having symptoms, there will be no other true exposure (within six feet with no mask for 15 minutes or longer) and the family quarantine clock won't have to reset. Fingers crossed!! It's not ideal, very inconvenient, and pretty lame, in fact, to wear a mask 24-7 in your own house, but I'd rather suffer a little inconvenience than have to extend this quarantine longer than truly necessary.
I had already contacted my new principal, secretary, and the special-ed teacher I am an assistant for on Sunday to let them know Jared tested positive and the rest of us were quarantining. They were super compassionate and understanding, though it didn't keep me from feeling terrible about bailing on them last minute. I hadn't even been working there officially for a complete month yet.
*After calling all four schools to report that the kids were in quarantine and the schools marking them as "hybrid," we tried getting them online to do their school work. It was pretty frustrating. First of all, not everything was ready when we were, so we had to go back and keep checking. Some of the documents were not user friendly at all. In JJ's case, I didn't know if he had to copy stuff down or print things off or take pictures and submit them (such a pain in the neck). Around this time, Calvin starting complaining of a headache. I love how the aches and pains all start once the kids need to work. Without fail, every time we ask them to load the dishwasher, the kids load one dish, and then announce they have to go to the bathroom. Jared says doing the dishes is the best way to keep his kids "regular."
*I noticed I was having a little bit of back pain on the lower right side. But I also realized it was halfway through my menstrual cycle and that isn't an abnormal pain for me. After a while it did go away.
*Jared wasn't loving his exile. To soften the blow, he bought a 40 inch TV to put in the room so there would be something to do. It would arrive two days later. He was feeling a little more run down and only came out once or twice and always had his mask on. We had ours on at all times, unless in the bathroom or our own bedroom space.
Tues. 17th--Cooper and I had some errands to run. For one, he had to return about $8,000 worth of videoing equipment to the school. Unfortunately, we couldn't do that until the afternoon. I also needed to get the inspection on my burb because it expires the last day of November. So we waited until 2pm and went and ran those errands. Later that afternoon, I started to notice more lower back pain and a twinge in my chest, like a small tightening.
Wed. 18th--I woke up with a headache and aches all over my back. I decided to head to the covid clinic. JJ had been complaining about a headache and stomach ache the day before and said he thought he should get tested, so I told him this was his chance. He came with me, but then he chickened out once we arrived. I got the rapid covid test. It was negative. I asked them if they were going to swab me for flu, because Jared tested positive for flu also. They weren't going to, but did anyway. That was also negative. So they came back and did the regular covid test that they send out. I had heard horror stories about nurses jamming sticks all the way to the back of your brain and swishing the insides around for this particular test. What I found, however, is that it was no big deal. I didn't even flinch. Felt like someone was trying to tickle my nose and get me to sneeze. I'd rather get covid tested than the strep test any day.
I was definitely feeling a bit puny and tucked myself in bed. I was fairly confident I had something. But even still, it wasn't terrible. I've had influenza and non-influenza viruses that have completely leveled me and this was just putting me a little under the weather. No fever, no chills, no coughing, no sore throat, no stomach or intestinal upset. Just a headache and some backaches. The medical provider who saw me called around 6:30pm that night to tell me that I tested positive for covid. Sounds about right since I live in such close proximity to Jared. Clearly, I was the next person most likely to get it. I told Jared about my test and invited him to come isolate with me in our bedroom. That was the best part! I'm not going to lie. It felt a bit strange not being together. I think the last time we had been under the same roof but not allowed to sleep in the same room was 24 years ago when we were engaged. :) It was a relief to finally be reunited, even if we weren't feeling a hundred percent.
*Calvin needed to work on his keyboarding course that he was grossly behind in. I watched him type from the kitchen and noticed he was pecking and looking at the keys, not using the proper techniques that he was learning in the class. When I asked him about it, he said, "Yeah, the computer doesn't know if I'm doing the finger positions or not. Pecking gets me through the courses faster." I pointed out that his style was defeating the purpose of this class. However, he wasn't bothered by it at all. As long as he passed, he was fine.
*I was grateful when Cooper asked me what I had planned for dinner and started making it without anyone asking him to. Apparently, the kids thought his Zuppa Toscana was better than mine. :)
Thurs. 19th--We cleared out Karcyn's room of Jared's things, stripped the bedding, and then let it sit for 45 minutes (like they do at the clinic), then we went in and sanitized everything before allowing Karcyn back in.
*At some point, we caught Calvin in our bathroom trying to get some Excedrin for a headache and reprimanded him for being in our sickbay.
*Karcyn took this picture of me earlier in the week so she could practice portrait sketching.
This was her final product. It garnered more than a few snickers from her brothers--basically because of the "super chin." Like Jay Leno. :)
Sun. 22nd--We watched our Stake Conference session (Calvin joined us in our room for that) and then Jared and I watched the rest of the first morning session of General Conference since we had missed it when my parents were here visiting. They had wanted to see Cooper and Calvin in their bowling league. As far as my symptoms, I had been doing really well, but on Sunday, I was feeling pretty fatigued and started coughing more.
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