Fun with COVID, still??

Yeah, fun with Covid. It's been a little over three years since the pandemic started in China and I remember the new talking about how it was spreading in China. I wasn't too concerned because it was China and China is so far away. It won't make it here. Yeah, and I thought the internet on phones was silly and excessive. (Can't live without it now) Monday, December 5th, I went for my colonscopy. I'd never in three years taken a Covid test. I haven't been sick in at least four years, most likely closer to seven years. I took the test an as expected it was negative. I go for my procedure. The previous week I'd had a slight cold. I called the doctors office and they said if I felt I could go through with the procedure, then to come in. That was Monday. On Saturday, Teri and I both go to get our Covid shot. We'd been neglectful and hadn't gotten our summer shot. You know because like everyone else we thought it was over. That Monday, I don't feel 100%, but I still go into work. About an hour or so into my day I start coughing. I still feel fine, it's juTuesday morning, I feel a little worse and I call in sick figuring why not. I don't want a repeat of yesterday.

After Sunday's chicken fiasco and me being the dope I am. I get a text from Nastia asking what is for dinner and can Sean come to dinner? I had planned leftovers and they were on there own as far as dinner, but now Sean was coming to dinner. I told them I wasn't feeling well and they'd have to help. Elena, who'd been the most obnoxious one the previous day (She gets that way because of her peroid, I'm told and she doesn't care)takes the lead and gets things going for tacos. I know I shouldn't be surprised, but she wasn't sure how to make tacos, I'd always made them. I instruct her to defrost the meat and to brown it in the pan. I was going to be a little late this night getting home. When I do and offer to take over, she says no and continues on. Sean and Nastia arrive along with Jessica. Eventually everyone is in the kitchen doing something for dinner. I notice late we are almost out of corn shells. Sean and Nastia go out to get them. They have to go to two stores so our 7PM dinner becomes a 8PM dinner. I wasn't overly hungry it turns out so we didn't need the extra shells. They help with the clean up and they end the night sitting around the table drinking vodka and lemonade or 43, that wonderful vanilla liquor. Non of them are big drinkers, thank God, so minimal supervision is needed. Sean is sleeping over, so he joins in. No one over does it. The next day, Tuesday, I call in sick. I call in sick mostly because I'm afraid I'd start coughing like I did on Monday. I have felt worse and gone to work, precovid though. Being sick has changed since Covid. I used to soldier on no matter how bad I felt. I'd go to school sick. I would do any work at school, but I went. I went to work sick because there was no one else to run my route most of the time. There was one time I just couldn't do it and Bruce ran it for me for two days. Like I said I haven't been sick in four or so years. People don't or are not supposed to do that any more. I was lost. So I spend the day watching old movies. Around six or so Nastia and I go to get some Covid tests. I'm doing it so she'll be happy. I don't have Covid. I got my shot on Saturday. I take my second Covid test ever. I look at the test before the fifteen minutes is up and the Covid line keeps getting darker and darker. I hope the line will disappear at fifteen minutes, it doesn't, I have Covid. I think the reason I have Covid is because I took a Covid test and it you know like broke the seal. I could have gone through life never having gotten Covid if I never took a test. That only works for me, so don't you try this at home. Well it would have... Teri gets home from work and she goes out to buy more tests so everyone in th ehouse is tested. Sean is alerted and he tests, I hope. Teri, who sleeps in the same bed as me is positive. Nastia hwo has an awful cough is negative. Elena also tests negativeand has no cough. Life goes on beyond the Palisades (yes you sharp reader, that's a Billy Joel song line). I'll miss the Helmar Christmas party tonight, but there is next year. You know I said that when I skipped the Consolidated Christmas party in 2000 because I was not comfortable going and there wasn't a second one. Christmas is eleven days away. I've done most of my shopping (yes on line, from my phone, yeah, why would you need the internet on your phone) so Santa will be coming this 25th, just a little light in the sack is all. /

Angry Parents

Some, no most of you parents out there will relate to this story. Teri decides to make a roast chicken for dinner one night. She goes through all of the hoops. She makes stuffing to go with the chicken. Opps, I mean dressing, it was out of the bird. I only recently became aware of the difference. Stuffing is inside the bird, dressing is outside. So simple, but the taste difference is worlds apart. I'd have preferred to have stuffing over dressing, but after twenty-seven years of marriage, you learn things along the way. She asked me closer to dinner what I wanted with the chicken. I said "How about flavored rice," She wants to make two boxes, but I say to make one box. Later it will be a good thing we did. Oh about half an hour before dinner Teri calls Nastia, Elena and Jessica down to get ready to eat. They assemble in the dinning room and each proceeds to say they are not eating dinner tonight. The one that gets me and I don't remeber who. It could be all three, but one of them said they ate at four, it's now six-thirty. I'm the one who has been cooking lately because I now get home by 5:15-5:20. I have delt with this for six months telling them to not eat so late or to text me and tell me they are not having dinner to night. I once made dinner and was the only one to eat it. The girls were not hungry, they ate late and Teri couldn't eat it. I've made some wonderful food most of the time. This time it was different, it was Teri who'd cooked. She has been off the front lines for the last six months and that's OK, I like cooking. Teri is a good cook. She know what spices go together better then I and she has an intuition about cooking. I'm a good cook because I can follow a recipe and how difficult it is doesn't matter, I will learn it, eventually. Whenever I go off the grid, so to speak, it can get messy. I tried to make home made fried rice one night, no recipe. It was OK, but I think I ate 90% of it, because everyone else didn't want any more.

So here we are after Teri has cooked the whole afternoon. The girls have told us they are not hungry. Teri gets angry, can't blame her, been there, done that. She sends them off after a few blistering comments concerning her having cooked and she'd told them and they could have had the decency to let her know they were not eating. And to top it off the chicken gets over cooked. I carve the chicken the best I can, but my not too sharp knife shreads the dry meat.Teri and I fill our plates and go into the living room. Out of guilt or whatever, Nastia joins us, eating a small plate of food. Moral of the story... I really don't know. When they're young, you cook, they mostly eat it. When they get older, get jobs and are not home, you miss them. When they're in their twenties and are home and don't eat should we still consider ourself lucky they are still here? Well the day they move out I know I'll have a definate answer for you. I have it now, because I dread them leaving. I'll miss them too much. I know they have to eventually, but I don't want them to. /