Failing to Outrun the Monster

The month of March has been filled so far with people's "one-year anniversaries" of the Year of Living COVID-ly. Here's one of mine: one year ago today was the last time I worked a full day in an office alongside other people.

But I've had a much more recent brush with COVID than that -- more recent, and more than a brush. Just a few weeks ago, my husband started showing symptoms. Mine were close behind. There was a short window where we hoped it might be something else (as if people just catch a common cold right now), but soon a positive COVID test confirmed the situation. A bit superstitious and not wanting to jinx anything, I decided I wouldn't write anything about it until we'd at least made it through the recommended quarantine period.

Nope, we don't have any real idea how or where we contracted COVID. One source seemed like a good bet, but no positive tests there ever materialized. And in a stroke of good fortune, when we alerted people we'd had contact with ourselves and they got tested, there were no positive returns. It was the Immaculate Infection.

Except obviously it wasn't, which is why I decided to say something about it here. We are on the home stretch of this thing, everybody. There are multiple effective vaccines currently being administered. Quantities are on the rise, and eligibility restrictions are being reduced. A good number of people I know have already been vaccinated. We're so close!

My husband and I had not started taking any crazier chances than we had in the 52+ prior weeks in which had not contracted COVID. Maybe one of the more infectious variants got us. Maybe the law of large numbers did, in one of countless little chances to get through. Either way, with perhaps single-digit weeks left to go before we could have received a vaccine... womp, womp.

Fortunately for the two of us, COVID was a mild enough experience that I can make light a little bit like that. But obviously, that was hardly a given. We've both definitely felt more sick than this before in our lives, but the congestion we have experienced lingers, migrating slowly around my head, nose, and throat in a lazy loop every few days and getting only a little bit better with each circuit.

Could we have buttoned down a little tighter for a little longer and avoided catching it? Seems likely. Basically: now that my moment of anxiety has passed, I just feel kinda stupid.

Don't be stupid. Don't do COVID immunity on "Hard Mode" when at this point you really don't have to.

Get your vaccine as soon as you're eligible, keep being careful here on the home stretch, and let's all drive a stake through the heart of this vampire. I realize I've lost moral high ground on this, but believe me when I say I'd do things differently if I had the chance.