The COVID Chronicle, February 16-28, 2021

 

February 17 [Wednesday]

Today the home front felt like pre-Covid. Due to separate dental appointments Wife Klem and I branched off in our own directions in the morning and didn’t see each other again until the evening. That’s like a regular day’s work schedule dating back to early 2020.

            Precautions were taken at my dental check-in: temperature reading of my forehead, ‘Have you been outside LA County in the past two weeks,’ ‘Have you been ill, any symptoms of Covid.’ I responded in the negative to all and was approved for entry. Dental office staff has been vaccinated due to exposure risk. In speaking with my dental hygienist she said work is stressful due to the potential for Covid exposure interacting with so many people, her patients. Given the circumstances she’s apprehensive about being so close to her patients all day long, often within one foot of a gaping pie hole. She wears double masks plus a face shield when at work.

 

February 22 [Monday]

It has been said of parents that they can be only as happy as their saddest child. This seems to have become a competitive sport, unfortunately. One child battles a moping lethargy. Maybe it’s just a college thing due to the tedium of one’s endless studies. The other battles looking for happiness and a constructive cause to go on. The evening degenerates into a bottomless array of YouTube videos and videogaming. The desire for creativity or constructive behavior is being eluded. Am I truly as inert as I feel in enacting change? Time will tell.

 

February 23 [Tuesday]

I saw my neighborhood dog-walking pal Ted this evening. We came across each other when I was returning from my evening walk and he was walking his dogs. He’d recently been down with a mild case of Covid. Scratchy throat, head congestion and two other things I forget, but no fever or body aches. His daughter also had it, she’d been alone since June! That’s a long time to go solo, I’d be a nut job. But then, some might suggest that I’m already a nut job. Regardless, I don’t know how solo dwellers do it and maintain mental health. In her case she lives with a cat and carries it in a backpack when she steps out.

 

February 24 [Wednesday]

The state opened back up for Drivers Learners Permits! Wife Klem and [my daughter] went to the DMV today. She passed her test and qualified for her Learners permit. The street driving commences! We enjoyed a celebratory dinner of her choice, Blaze Pizza. Wife Klem ordered online, I retrieved.

 

February 27 [Saturday]

I had a solo Safehouse visit today. Just me, mom and dad, and Uncle Joe. [My niece] was feeling punk so [my brother and his team] were absent to avoid possible contagion. The elders and I discussed vaccinations. They’re not enthusiastic and are awaiting the availability of the recently approved single-dose vaccine by Johnson & Johnson. My mom sounds like she’s coming around. She’s adamant against the two-shot routine, but sounds almost receptive to the single. I otherwise worry about my people being holed up without the former bountiful and frequent Sunday dinner visits. But they’re doing well and getting along peacefully, the good sports. It was a fun visit.