Work week recap

A winter storm is headed this way, bringing with it the chance of ice late tonight and early tomorrow morning. As much as I long for a good snow, ice is a different matter altogether. Ice is beautiful, but so dangerous. Thank goodness it's a holiday weekend (Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Monday) and I have no real need to leave the house before Tuesday. Following on the heels of this storm is another weather system that the long-range forecast says might bring us some snow next weekend. Fingers crossed for that! I'm anxious to see the "new" house and neighborhood with a blanket of white.

I've continued to feel a bit under the weather for the last couple of days. Although I got a negative result on my rapid Covid test, I remain unconvinced that I don't have a (very, very) mild case. Yesterday my throat felt kind of weird and sore, and I've been a bit short of breath for a few days now, off and on. That sounds bad, but it's not that unusual for me. I have mild asthma that can be triggered by allergies, a cold, or even just a drastic change in temperature.  A puff or two on an inhaler and I'm totally fine. So who knows?

I'd go to one of the DHEC testing sites for a more accurate PCR test, but they've all been so overwhelmed that it's taking up to a week to get results back (and that's when we're not having a state holiday and a winter storm) so I don't think I'll bother. I feel almost 100% back to normal today, anyway. If it is Covid, thank goodness for vaccines and boosters! I was careful at work yesterday to keep my N-95 mask on and to avoid other people as much as possible, just in case. 

Speaking of work, I meant to tell you about something nice that happened to me at the beginning of the week. My little buddy Clarence (the boy who kept coming to my desk for Christmas candy in exchange for not getting in trouble last month) stopped by my desk to see me on Monday. (Since I was already feeling a little weird, I gave him a fist bump instead of a hug). He said, "Mrs. Barlow, I'm going to bring you a present tomorrow!  I told my mama I wanted to get my favorite teacher a present!" I told him that that was a sweet thing to say, but that his good behavior and good attitude was all the present I needed. Of course, I forgot about it immediately. Well. The next day he showed up at my desk and presented me with this:

"Viva Las Vegas Night" perfume! :)  

Clarence was so proud of himself when he gave it to me. He said, "It smells REAL good!" (It smells about like you expect). What a sweet, kind thing for that little boy to do! I wrote  him a nice thank you note on some of my personalized office stationery. I showed the gift to the basketball coach, who happens to be one of the behavior interventionists, and he quipped, "I hope that's not missing off his mama's dresser!" Haha! We both got a good laugh at that. All joking aside, though, this little bottle of dollar store perfume made me cry a little bit. 

I'll sign off today with a few pictures of the aquariums at work, taken by some of our Art students who are studying photography at the moment. Aquariums are notoriously hard to photograph, but the teacher sent me four of what she judged to be the best ones. The first two are from the goldfish tank in the lobby, and the last are from the planted community tank in the library.

Quarantine-while

 Stephen Colbert has had a segment on The Late Show called "Quarantine-while" that over the last several months has taken the place of "Meanwhile".....a short humorous roundup of news that may have escaped notice with so many big stories to report on. Here's a recent one: 

Meanwhile....I'm quarantining in my house for the next day or two pending results of the Covid test I had this morning. 

As an allergy sufferer I'm prone to a ticklish cough in my throat that usually doesn't concern me. Along with the occasional runny nose, sneezing, and puffy eyes first thing in the morning, it's just part of my baseline. I've had that kind of cough for a couple of days now, but have felt fine. Then this morning I woke up with actual congestion in my chest and some very slight wheezing when I breathe deeply. That's not a normal part of allergies. 

Although I feel okay otherwise, I called the school nurse and asked her opinion. Our school (as well as the district as a whole) has rising positive case numbers as well as a huge wave of students and staff who have been exposed to someone with the virus and must stay at home until they're tested. Our state, like much of the country, is suddenly experiencing record-setting case spikes and our hospitals are becoming overwhelmed. Out of an abundance of caution, the nurse and I decided that it would be best if I got a test and quarantined at home for a day or two in the meantime. The district has a testing agreement with MUSC here in Florence (one of our two major hospitals) and I was able to get a drive-up Covid swab for free.

The test was quick and easy, and except for the swab making my nose burn for the 10 seconds they had to leave it stuck up there it wasn't even very uncomfortable. What is uncomfortable is waiting for the results. I really don't think I have it, as I've been very careful about social distancing, handwashing, and mask wearing plus I don't feel very bad at all. No fever, no loss of taste or smell, no other indication of anything weird except possibly some extra tiredness and feeling chilled (despite warm clothes and normally running more hot than cold) very recently. 

I really hope this isn't Covid! More even than for myself I worry about giving it to my husband. We both have pre-existing conditions (mild asthma for me, a cancer history for him) so neither of us can really afford to catch it. I'll be isolating myself in the house as much as possible until the results come in, which should be in 24 to 48 hours. 

Meanwhile (quarantine-while!) I'm going to try to relax and enjoy the time at home since I feel okay. I'm re-starting a book I liked but never finished some years ago called Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and cooking a crockpot full of pinto beans for our supper tonight. The weather has turned cold and I've been enjoying sitting by the fire in the evenings, with the Christmas tree lit. Hopefully this dreaded virus hasn't infiltrated our home--talk about spoiling the holidays! Wish us luck.