Positive things happening over here

1) Zoë tested positive for COVID on January 31.

2) I was accepted into UGA's PhD program in Language and Literacy Education on February 2.

3) Benjamin and Phoebe tested positive for COVID on February 3.

4) Then I tested positive for COVID on February 6 (today).

I started feeling sick yesterday, but I almost managed to convince myself that it was just allergies. I don't even have allergies to, you know, outside stuff. Not really. But, yesterday while the kids were all playing in the yard so sweetly together, I spent some time clearing leaves out of the rock beds in front of our house (a chore that we've put off for far too long). I raked the leaves up, hauled them away on a tarp, and did quite a bit of blowing as well. And I forgot that I had left my mask hanging on the arm of the chair on the front porch when I started blowing. 

So when I came inside and started feeling worse and worse, my nose dripping, my eyes burning, my throat scratching...I convinced myself that it was because I was inhaling dust and stuff that I'd inadvertently contaminated my mask with. 

I switched masks and felt better for a time...but by the time I went to bed I wasn't sure I was going to stave off this illness. By the time Phoebe joined me I was completely sure it was a lost cause. My head felt like it was going to split in two and although I put on my mask for a few minutes to "protect" myself from all her little germies, I soon took it off because I just wasn't getting enough air. I couldn't breathe through my nose and...things were just gross, okay. Plus, I figured I didn't need protection from her anymore because, as it turns out, masking is no match for being sneezed on a thousand times right in your face by your ever-lovin' toddler.

Here she is glued right to my back while we're trying to catch some shut eye:

I was really hoping to not catch it this time because, well, we've really been quite careful, with everyone (except for Phoebe, who does not believe in keeping a six-foot distance from Mommy) in their own sleeping area; we've all been wearing, like, three layers indoors because we've been keeping all our windows open (it is February, remember...but we live in Georgia, so it's not too bad, but it's still pretty chilly); and we've been masking pretty much 24/7. Plus we have every vaccine possible!

Here's Alexander playing Minecraft in the entryway, so he can glimpse through the sheet what his sick siblings are doing in Minecraft on the big screen in the "sick room" (they're masked, he's masked, and the curtain is...maybe...keeping that air from flowing too much into the entryway?? That's the idea anyway):

It reminded me of this one Bollywood movie we watched, where they set up a screen outside and the richer villagers paid to watch the movie the way it was intended, while those in lower castes (and presumably for a cheaper price or free) watched it sitting behind the screen, so everything was backwards for them. 

This isn't quite the same as that (and I wish I could remember what movie it was—Swades, my mom tells me), but it just made me laugh at poor Alexander's status as a healthy outcast. To be fair, he's still healthy...so watching from behind the curtain has probably been worth it. It's not just Minecraft that he's watching from behind the curtain, either; he's sat through several episodes of Bluey and Daniel Tiger through the curtain as well.

Anyway, another reason I wanted to not get sick (aside from the perk of just...not being sick) was that today's the day Andrew and I had tickets to see Hamilton. We haven't technically been out on a date since...moving to Georgia (though we have been to the temple a couple of times)...so I was pretty excited for this. I had recorded a couple hours' worth of me reading stories and singing songs so that our sitters (who were supposed to be Grandpa and his fiancée, not so much because Rachel and Miriam can't but just because it was a good time to have grandparents be around) had something to offer Phoebe at bedtime. 

She's used to falling asleep as I read to Alexander and Zoë, which is a fine habit since I read to them every night anyway (but which is kind of a bad habit when she wakes up in the middle of the night and wants me to read to her until she falls back asleep and all I want to do is go back to bed, myself). 

Instead of me and Andrew going out, however, Andrew took Rachel out to see Hamilton. 

Here they are just before leaving (Rachel stood higher up on the hill so she looks taller than her dad):

And here they are excited for the show to begin:

It was a little disappointing to not get to go out this evening. But also, I feel so terrible that staying home sounded wonderful. I was like, "Have fun, you two. I'm going to curl up in my blanket and catnap now..."

The fact that I know I'll be taking Rachel's place next Thursday (when Grandpa, his fiancée, and Miriam are going) also took away quite a bit of the sting. They had a really great time and said we next-weekers have a lot to look forward to.