So This is Covid

 

Well, I've got COVID. 

Which is probably inevitable with this variant if you or your SO works outside the home. 

Part of it was probably a little bit of mistiming. I caught a light cold Christmas Eve. I was recovering from that, when there was a COVID scare (well, not a "scare," given that one of his coworkers did come down with it) at the SO's work, and we decided to get boosted immediately. 

So basically I was already run down when got the booster, and I got the booster after I'd been exposed. Oops.

So I missed New Year's because, yep, COVID.

Which I kept insisting was just a bad cold--because that's what it feels like. A very bad cold. I did sort of suspect however, especially when the SO's version of the very bad cold came with fever and aching joints, and was over in three days. 

**Obviously, OBVIOUSLY, I was socially isolating through all of this. Regardless of chances I might take, I'm never going to take a chance with someone else's health or safety. Let alone the health and safety of people I love.

Up until we caught it, I assumed that these break-thru cases occurred because people were not taking the same precautions they'd originally taken. I mean, I'd stopped spraying everything that came through the door (including the dogs' paws) with disinfectant. I'd stopped wearing a mask when outdoors.  I went out to lunch. I went to Catalina for a week and did all the things. 

As we understood more about the virus, we adjusted our behaviors accordingly. But we were still super careful. 

The problem is, we can only control our own behaviors. We learned that one of the SO's unvaccinated coworkers lied--continues to lie--about being tested. Some of the customers who walk into that business don't wear masks and throw a screaming fit when they're asked to put a mask on. I'm going to assume they aren't vaccinated. The madness continues.

Anyway, my cold went on and on, people kept asking me if I was tested, and finally I thought why aren't you getting tested? So I got tested and yep. Bingo. 

If I hadn't already been getting over a cold, I'd probably have recovered a lot faster. As it was, I had a couple of miserable days and then what feels like forever of lingering ickiness. Today I feel pretty good. I still have a cough, but it's way, way better. I never had any alarming symptoms. I didn't have aching joints. I was never short of breath. I didn't lose my sense of smell or taste. 

MY GOOD TASTE REMAINS INTACT. ;-) 

Had I not been fully vaccinated, it could have been quite a different outcome. Especially since I'm prone to respiratory infections. Had we been boosted earlier, we might not have been sick at all, and that would have been the best possible outcome.