Tag Archive | Covid

What a Year! Oh wait:)

Feb6

2022 has been a year……. And it has only been a month………

Damn!

January was not the year for running. I looked at my stats and I ran a total of 15 miles. Yes, you read that right. 15 whole miles. So, with out a doubt, not a stellar month for running. I am trying to get back into my training as I would like to comfortably finish the NYC Half. Not looking to run a sub 2 like I did the last time I ran it, but looking to at least enjoy it like I did last time too. I had fun. Running a sub 2 I still managed to take amazing photos and fun selfies while zipping through the city. I want to be able to have that same fun at a different pace.

So I have been trying to get back to my training…..

But it’s hard.

It is so hard.

Again January has been a year….. Like any year, some good. Some bad. Let’s break it down.

The good.

My state of NJ has finally come out of the dark ages and allowed home bakers to legally bake from home with a permit. So beginning of month, I was working on getting all permits and paperwork. Then I was off to the races baking. More truthfully, off to the oven. It has been a whirlwind of testing recipes, filling orders and trying to figure out marketing/required labels. But I have loved it all because to me baking is one of my Happy Places.

So I will share some of my happy moments with you!

Just a little bit of what I’ve been mixing up

While doing this, I am still working my 30 plus normal job, pretending to take care of the house and not letting anything on the home front slide. To say it’s been a lot might be an understatement but I am not complaining because I have a goal.

Then the flip side of the month has brought a lot of different emotion.

A family member has been dealing with the demons of Covid. Watching in slow motion from afar the stories you have watched on the news play out in real time with more than likely the same outcome. This story is still playing out but leaves raw emotions especially for loved ones who you are supporting. So many emotions…. The ONLY thing I will say is …… please get vaccinated. If not for you, for your loved ones.

Then there was/is a health scare with my own mom. She is visiting sister in California and Monday morning fainted falling face first full force on a tile floor breaking her nose in 3 places. After a ride to ER, it was determined that she had a Saddle Pulmonary Embolism which basically is a massive clot in her lungs. They found a second one in her leg. It was a week…… Up and down… Up and down….. Things move quickly in the medical field though (at least in this case). 2 days in ICU. Another 2 in regular room and by Friday in a rehab facility to get strength/confidence back. Hopefully this is a short stay as my sister can’t wait to have her back in her home.

Isn’t she cute? She has some work ahead of her, but outcome is good.

Again, so many emotions all in one week.

All this emotion gets you thinking what does everything mean. I’ve had these conversations/thoughts before. I am having them again.

We Made It!

Jan1

If you are reading this, you made it! We thought that we would couldn’t wait to celebrate the end of 2020 fast enough, but 2021 made ushering out 2021 even more of something to look forward to. Now don’t get me wrong, not everything in 2021 sucked but enough that it was worth kicking it to the curb. Come on 2022, be kind to us!

Although I am already not starting it off the way I imagined. When it appeared we were seeing the tail end of supid f&%*ing Covid, I signed up for a local Hangover Run. I always have fun. They have a cool sweatshirt and since I don’t drink, I am never hung over. Plus it doesn’t start till noon. Yet, here I sit typing my blog instead of joining in on the fun.

Why, you ask……

Stupid f$%{*ing Covid.

It’s been a minute since I’ve posted, so let me update……..

Oldest son has been fighting a cold for a while. Run down, but he is also a Senior in college with a very hard course load (not sure when you are getting a Chemical Engineering Degree with a minor in Physics there is an easy course load). Hasn’t helped that his lab partners have not been up to snuff and he has been making up for that, but I digress (professors – I guess this teaches them what happens in the real world with fellow workers who skate, but it sucks)…. Anywho…. He finished his final exam, handed in his lab report and then attended to his health. He thought he might have strep as his throat was on fire. So early Saturday morning after exams, he went to medical center. No strep. No Covid……. dun dun dun…. Mono.

He was in no shape to drive home, so hubby and I went to get him as we didn’t want to leave his car there. College town has been known to randomly decide to clean streets and tow car. When we got to his apartment, I can only describe it as everything you would expect a college apartment of a 21 year old male to look like who has been focused on school, work, and exhausted from Mono would look. As his mother, I had to do what mom’s do…… while he slept……. and slept….. and slept all the way home.

I think the first day home, he may have slept for 18 hours. Then he slept some more. I plied him with my smoothies, some protein heavy meals, and told him to sleep, rest and play his video games. He is doing better, but he still needs to take it easy.

Then there was ”normal” Christmas prep, work, and just life. We squeezed in a screening of new Spiderman movie (highly recommend) We made it to Christmas! We let our guard down for a minute and wham Covid! Middle son tested positve. Luckily he is fully vaxxed and boosted, so he had mild case. It sent the rest of us into high alert and we all had to take to our corners which ended the nightly games and fun. Boo Hoo….

But no one else tested positive. Oldest avoided it and can continue to focus on recovering from Mono without further complications. Whew! We are now past the CDC recommended quarantine guidelines (unless they’ve changed again), but still being careful.

So being the adult (which by the way sucks), I had to pass on running the Hangover Run today. I could not justify even for a small event capped at 500 chancing rolling the dice and bringing the big C home when we just lucked out with the one case we had in the house.

So here is to making it to 2022!!!

Here is to a HAPPY HEALTHY New Year with all the hope that it brings:)

Thief of Time

Aug4

Covid is many things…..

It is a deadly virus..getting stronger

For those vaccinated, while it might not be deadly is still worrisome.

It is stressful…

But one of it’s biggest characters is being a thief of so many things,

but a thief of time…..

Time spent with those you love….. missed.

For more than a whole $%&*@!& year, we hid from those we love for their protection. We facetimed, zoomed, texted and everything else but there were no hugs…….. no family get togethers………. No holidays……… No birthdays……. Nothing……

For their protection….. until we were given the opportunity to vaccinate.

Then we gathered. I am thankful for that. Thankful because I got to spend a few afternoons together. My Mother-in-Law who safely protected herself from Covid was lost this week to other illnesses. Obviously, I am feeling all the feels you get when a loved one passes, but on top of that….

I’m pissed.

I’m angry because we couldn’t get a handle on Covid, so much time was wasted. Our last Christmas together was not together. Our last vacation, was not together. So many things we took for granted pre-Covid were missed. Most of all I’m sad that she is gone, but also relieved that she is not suffering and that she is now reunited with those she loved and lost.

Circle of life, I guess….. It’s always harder for those left behind. To quote this wise woman who will be missed

“Love each day, kiss your husbands and wives and hug your kids. Life is so short… make it sweet.” 💔

Hold On

Nov13

So tired of 2020, but who says 2021 is going to be any better. Although I do have hight hopes for after January 20th, but even then it will be a process to turn things around. Not the flick a switch, say Happy New year at midnight and everything rights itself.

The problem is now we have all gotten comfortable being uncomfortable. It is the norm. We stopped wiping down our groceries. We started going out more (not really in this house). We started expanding our bubbles. We took our lives off the holding pattern that the initial surge created.

This is good…..

This is also bad…..

It is good because for the here and now, we do need to learn to live with Covid. We need to work. We need socialization. We need do what we can in the safest manner we can. Although there is good news on the horizon, it is on the horizon and we need to do what we can to get through the here and now.

The time will come when this will pass. When the lockdowns, the masks, the intimate gatherings become social events again. When this will all be a not say very pleasant memory that we will pass stories on to our potential grandchildren about…… We won’t even need to exaggerate because the truth is bad enough. The stories will begin with….. The year was 2020 and there was no toilet paper to be found.

But for now.

We wait.

We still show caution.

We remain patient.

We wear our masks.

Most of all we….

Tomorrow will be a better day even if tomorrow is a short distance away. We don’t know what tomorrow yet, but it is coming. Life will go back to normal. We will carry the lessons that we learned We will hold onto those that carried us through 2020 in what ever way necessary. We will throw mask burning parties. We will do all of these things if we just have patience to get there.

As a runner, what I miss most about 2020 is races. Not even crossing the finish line, but racing with friends. Training for events. Planning events. Waiting at start line of events. I miss it terribly, but I have no desire to do any in person events right now. Everyone has their level of comfort and this is past mine. To be honest, I don’t much enjoy running in the park filled with other runners and walkers. There will be a day where that won’t even be a thought and I can’t wait.

So we wait.

We practice all the things we know we need to do….

We hold onto hope