Sunday, December 27, 2020

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

Christmas 2020 was unlike any other as we celebrated, socially distant. Christmas Eve was just the 4 of us, with homemade pizza. After dinner, my youngest son's girlfriend joined us for a lively game of Fibbage, followed by Quiplash. We spent the evening laughing ourselves silly. Christmas Day was again just the 4 of us. We opened our gifts, did a Zoom exchange with my parents, sisters, and their families, and enjoyed a roasted goose for dinner. 

Prior to the holiday, my youngest son started complaining of a sore throat on Tuesday; by Wednesday he had a fever. I was feeling a little panicked. He swore up and down that he hadn't been exposed. I believed him--none of his 8 housemates have had COVID and a recent COVID antibody test was negative. I was pretty sure that my immunity to the virus from the vaccine I received less than a week ago wasn't very strong at that point, and inwardly I crumbled. 

The next day I took my still febrile son to the immediate care at my office. He was swabbed for COVID, flu, and strep and tested for mono, even though it was too soon for the monospot to be reliable. Everything was negative, which was kind of a mixed blessing. I mean, I don't want him to have anything, but clearly, he did, and wouldn't it be better to know what it was?

Relieved about that negative COVID test, but knowing there was still the possibility of a false negative, I was glad that we already planned on a socially distant holiday at home. The risk of exposing my extended family to whatever he had would have forced that anyway. As the weekend progressed, my son's sore throat got worse and the fever continued. His symptoms didn't seem like typical COVID. We got late-breaking test results this morninng: it's non-group A strep, a variation that we don't normally treat. I offered to call in a prescription of antibiotics for him since he's still pretty miserable, but he's going to tough it out. Just like a man, lol. 

This is where we're at right now-- where every illness is COVID until proven otherwise, but anything else is preferable. 

Guys, I am so tired of COVID, but I can't just ignore it. I am faced with it every day in my job. We are so close to getting on top of it, but people just can't seem to get that. If I get a little salty about it, please consider my perspective.

Weekly Rundown

Monday: trail run 5.6 miles, Yoga with Adriene
Tuesday: rest
Wednesday: run 5 miles
Thursday: rest
Friday: run 5.27 miles
Saturday: trail run 6 mile
Sunday: CrossFit wod with 2250m run
Year to date: 1198 miles

Running

Holiday week; my training schedule was up for grabs. With a dentist appointment scheduled for Wednesday morning (I broke a tooth), I took my shoes to the trails on Monday. I'm so glad I did. It was a cold but absolutely gorgeous morning. To mix things up, I parked in a different lot and found a new-to-me trail into the woods. This was a twisty, up and down path with lots of downed tree trunks. I took full advantage of some agility training, leaping over them. These trails are truly the gift that keeps on giving!


It was ridiculously windy on Wednesday, so I ran my neighborhood loop, ensuring that I wouldn't run into the wind for any length of time. It was a good plan and my splits were all over the place, depending on the wind. I stopped at the park to play with handstands and surprised myself by easily kicking up and holding them! 


I always run on Christmas morning and even though it was bitterly cold, the sun was shining when I headed out to the bike path. There were a few other die-hard runners and walkers out there too.


Saturday was another cold morning, although not as cold as the day before. I decided to go to the preserve along the DesPlaines River. When I got there, the parking lot was closed. So I drove to another parking lot, which was also closed. Odd. There is a nature center in this preserve, surely, I thought, that would be open. It was and I parked in the lot, running through the little nature area to the trail. From there, I ran south 3 miles in the cold sunshine. When I finished, I stopped to ask the employee about the closed parking areas. She said they would be closed for the season to allow workers unrestricted access to do maintenance on the trails. Oh, right! 🙄

a beautiful cold bluebird day!

CrossFit/Strength

I received a new wooden plyo/jump box for Christmas and was excited to see that Sunday's WOD included box overs! The WOD started with 2 rounds of a 4 minute AMRAP: 5 box overs, 5 burpees, and 10 single arm DB power cleans. After a 2 minute rest, there was another 4 minute AMRAP of 5 handstand pushups or decline pushups, 5 per leg single leg v-ups, and 10 single arm DB snatches. After a 2 minute rest, I finished up with a 2000m run (subbed for a 2000m row).

Cocoa testing out my new plyo box

It Felt a Little Like Christmas...

I runfess...I really enjoyed our little family holiday this year. Don't tell my mom. Earlier in the week, my husband and I did a drive-through light show that was choreographed to music. While we enjoyed it, it definitely wasn't something I want to do again. I'd rather walk and enjoy at my own pace. 

My sunroof came in handy for photos

On Christmas morning, I woke up to photos sent from the mother of the family my office adopted for the holidays. Oh my goodness, was that what my heart needed to see! I shared them with wonderful coworkers, several of whom sent photos of their own little ones opening gifts. What a blessing they all are!

My husband, boys, and I opened our gifts. That Goose Island Bourbon county stout I scored last month put a big smile on my very stoic husband's face! Best.gift.ever. He was stunned and told me he too had entered the lottery but didn't get an entry to purchase it. We gifted my oldest son, who loves to cook, a silver Kitchen Aid mixer that I scored on Black Friday. My youngest got a new snowboarding helmet after cracking his old one when he crashed last March. I got some Vuori joggers, which I haven't stopped wearing except for a run, along with the plyometric jump box

my sick boy and nurse Cocoa

We Zoomed with my family, but most of the gifts we mailed to my sister and her family out east hadn't yet arrived. While it was nice to see everyone, Zoom is definitely not a substitute for the real thing. After dinner of roasted goose, we watched the new Wonder Woman movie, which while not my typical movie, I have to admit I enjoyed it. I could use some of her skills! Goals for 2021. 

This year was very different than Christmases of the past, but we made the most of it and it was really nice!

How was your holiday? Were you able to squeeze in some workouts? Did you get together with family or did you do a virtual get-together like we did?

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown. 






46 comments :

  1. I am glad you were able to have a fun laughing on Christmas despite it not being your normal. I really hope your son is feeling better soon. It is always frustrating not knowing what it is so you can treat it properly. My son broke out in rash on his face and upper body the week before Thanksgiving and I was convinced it was covid too. Nope it was impatigo! Adults don't usually get that. After a few days of antibiotics he was all good. Crazy! How did you break a tooth? Look at that yearly mileage way to go!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had a tooth with an old filling that we've been watching. I was eating a Hershey's nugget and when I bit into it, there was something hard in it. Yikes. It wasn't a nut, lol.

      Delete
  2. With covid symptoms so varied, I have the same reaction to anything — until you test negative, it could be covid, and even if you do test negative maybe it still is covid! I’m glad you had a nice holiday. LOL at Cocoa on your plyo box!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Once he developed more symptoms beyond the fever, it was clearly either strep or mono. How sad is it that I was relieved?

      Delete
  3. Just the 2 of us for Christmas. The COVID numbers for So Cal are so out of control, we're pretty much quarantining ourselves to stay safe. Hope your son feels better soon.
    It was super windy here most of the week - part of our fence is down due to 40 mph winds. So most of my workouts were in the garage. It finally calmed on Christmas and we enjoyed walking our neighborhood to see the lights.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We had big winds this week and my firepit blew across the yard. Good thing we have a fence!

      Delete
  4. I'm glad you had a fun Christmas despite Matt being under the weather. I hope he's feeling better very soon. I love that your oldest son wanted a Kitchenaid! So cool!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm sure having your son sick was so stressful! I'm glad its not COVID and I hope he feels better soon! I think my husband is feeling similar to you, with just being faced with COVID stuff all day every day. His clinic is open 7 days a week so he never gets a break from it, and I've never seen him busier or more stressed about work stuff. The stories he tells leave me so disheartened for what we are facing. Hang in there, hopefully we will be turning a corner very soon!
    We didn't see family for Christmas. My dad travels alot for work and with the cases being so high we didn't want to risk seeing them when he just got home on Wednesday. So we did lots of facetiming and zooming!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here! My sister finally got the gifts I sent them, so we FaceTimed again today!

      Delete
  6. So sorry that your son is so sick, but glad it isn't COVID. I think that's what so many seem to totally not get -- the healthcare workers are SO overwhelmed by COVID -- doesn't anyone ever think about the fact that loved ones could die simply because there's no space for them? I guess not.

    Sounds like you guys did pretty good in the gifts department!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are living in a very selfish time, with the example set from the top down. I can't expect people to behave any differently, but I sure wish they would. It's been a very stressful time for those of us in healthcare. For me personally, I am in a 'non-COVID' clinic but we have had parents lie about their kids symptoms. It's almost more dangerous than working with known COVID patients.

      Delete
  7. Ooh I forgot all about the new Wonder Woman movie! We're going to have to see that soon. Enjoy the plyo box! Thank goodness your son "just" has strep instead of the 'rona, sorry you guys had to go through that scare.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really was scary--the thought of getting COVID after finally receiving the vaccine was more than my head could handle!

      Delete
  8. Hope your son feels better soon. Hard to be sick on Christmas but at least it's not COVID.

    We were alone for the holiday. Just one of those years.

    But it was a good running week so there is that.

    Glad to hear that you got the first vaccine. I can't wait!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't mind our little family holiday at all. Sometimes things work out ok, for us, it did!

      Delete
  9. I'm glad you had a nice Christmas, and I'm especially glad Matt didn't have Covid! What a scare. Our Christmas was quiet, but it generally is. We always do a huge extended family Christmas in early December with 4 generations involved. This is the first time in probably 80+ years it hasn't happened. Sad. Hoping next year we will be back to such gatherings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. As a kid, we had a huge extended family and the gatherings were epic! That all ended when everyone split off to do their own things. Let's hope for more normalcy to return.

      Delete
  10. I'm so sorry to hear that your son has strep :( I admire him for toughing it out and hope that he feels better soon. I totally get being concerned that it could be Covid - heck, I think every little cough and sniffle is Covid until proven otherwise.

    Will Cocoa be joining you for Crossfit WODs soon? Love that photo of her on the box!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She's always around when I'm working out at home! I keep telling them at CF they need a mascot!

      Delete
  11. Yeah, I get it - I wasn't exactly sad that I wasn't getting together with my brother's family. The holidays are always a bit strained by them and it was nice to have an excuse to avoid all of that drama. Interesting diagnosis with your son. My daughter's fever lasted quite a while and I was certain it was COVID. I hope he's feeling better soon. I'd take any drugs I could for that! Sore throats are miserable.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I get that, but antibiotics aren't necessary and he's all about avoiding unnecessary meds. He's better today, hopefully he's on the mend for good!

      Delete
  12. Okay, I'm sold on these vuori joggiers! Enough people have raved about them. A post-Christmas gift to myself :)

    I'm glad your son didn't have covid. Hopefully he's feeling better soon. So glad you've had the vaccine. I cannot wait to get one...though it will probably be June or July for me I'm guessing.

    Happy holidays!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, I bought a second pair, lol!!! I probably will never wear real pants again.

      I will feel much better in a week or so, and then after the second dose. So over this.

      Delete
  13. Sorry for the COVID scare; been there, done that. My mom is a real piece of work; totally in denial on everything and refuses to stay home. She's definitely not my favorite relative these days...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I feel like Iowa is the land of Covid skeptics--at least that's what we hear over here across the border! My mom isn't in denial, she's just clueless. Wanted us to all meet for breakfast at a restaurant by them (they're open). Um, no.

      Delete
  14. Love your furry coach. Did she approve of your form? Is Sammy Jo worried she's going to be replaced, err furplaced?
    Glad you have an answer for your son and it's not the scary C one. I hope he's on the mend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, I don't think SJ would have too many worries about that! But I do feel bad for the CF gym.

      Delete
  15. Oh, Wendy. I can't imagine how hard it must be to be up against COVID all day long, and then see what people are doing. You must be beyond exhausted.

    I hope your soon starts feeling better and that the negative holds. Mr Pugrunner has such terrible allergies, and every time he coughs, I have an involuntary flinch.

    We had a quiet Christmas. We skipped all the parties and festivities, because it just didn't seem wise.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's getting so much better--in fact, he is at his girlfriend's house tonight. Guess he's getting tired of us!

      Delete
  16. Oh Wendy, I am sorry to hear about your son. I hope he gets better soon. My sister and nephew came over like they did for Thanksgiving. One of my cousins had asked about doing a Zoom virtual get together but somehow that did not happen. I've heard positive and negative things about the new Wonder Woman movie. I still want to see it anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm glad you had a nice Christmas despite your son being sick - hope he's feeling better! It is crazy when we're relieved with any other diagnosis as long as it's not COVID - but that's how I'd feel too!. I can't imagine facing it on a daily basis as you do.

    Our Christmas was quiet too - just my brother joined us. I missed being with my parents but it just wasn't worth the risk to them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Some days I think I'd like to run away but there's nowhere to go! Guess that's why I've embraced the trails. It's a escape, even if for a little while.

      Delete
  18. Our biggest joke in general pathology class was when in doubt what to choose for an answer on a test question pick flu like symptoms! Haha

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ha, what a scare, Wendy! I'm glad your son tested negative in the end!

    Your running photos are stunningly beautiful, especially the "cold bluebird day" one. Good for you for going out despite the cold. It's always worth it.

    So nice that you were able to surprise your stoic husband! Giving presents like that is so gratifying.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My husband is tough to shop for and tough to surprise. That gift made him so happy and his reaction will stay with me for a while!

      Delete
  20. Love your photos and hope your son feels better soon. I had a super run on Christmas morning, very jolly. Apart from that it's just been us. Covid feels like it's closing in on us, but I can't find a way we can be even more careful! The only change I've made is to decide to only run with one other person at a time for a while. Which I was sort of doing anyway. I risked an exposure the other week, however the person who was with me and the person I ran with next have had negative test results so I'm hoping we're OK. Unfortunately, if we're asymptomatic we're only allowed to get tested in the city which would be an 8-mile round trip by foot, as we don't drive. You can't get a test by post etc without symptoms. We were told city-wide testing was being brought in but no sign of it! Symptoms and it's only a mile and a bit away for that test centre. Another mess-up! Keep safe and I hope those around you do too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The tests here are really only accurate IF you have symptoms. So if you have a negative test, it doesn't necessarily mean that you don't have COVID. Based on my boy's symptoms, I was fairly confident he didn't have COVID. Getting that strep culture back made me feel so much better! Poor kid.

      Delete
  21. When I saw your handstand photo on IG, I amused myself by deciding my talk of mastering a handstand again inspired you to demo your best. I know, I know, pure fantasy but it was still fun.

    Glad your boy doesn't have COVID.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe...but truly, I was having a tough run and needed a win. Going upside down is always a sure way to do that.

      Delete
  22. I hope your son is feeling better by now. It must have been a scary few days...

    My husband and I visited my mom the weekend before Christmas so it was just our kids and Pablo for Christmas. It was the most relaxing Christmas ever!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He is feeling better! We were definitely worried. Glad that this was an isolated holiday. Kind of funny how things work out, isn't it?

      Delete
  23. Oh no, sorry you had to deal with a broken tooth on top of everything else during this COVID Christmas! Even though we are not doing our normal holiday thing, people seem to be adapting quite well. Sometimes I think taking a step back from our "normal" is just what we need! Glad you had a nice Christmas and hope your son has a speedy recovery!
    -M

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really enjoyed our low-key holiday! Plus I had my boys all to myself.

      Delete