Three years of dodging the virus came to an end last week. I played golf on Wednesday, and felt the beginnings of a cold. By Thursday morning, my head was splitting, my nose blocked and an occasional cough. Another bug from Mrs L’s pupils I thought. Friday. I was due to golf, with playing partners that the golf federation terms “super-seniors”, so I thought I’d take a Covid test as a matter of courtesy.
Oh.
I was perversely proud of the strength of my lines. Two proper sharpie marks appeared instantly. Mrs L, who’d been suffering from a sniffle all week tested too. Her line was more of a fineliner, but a line it was.
Almost certainly, the infection came from Mrs L’s school. Not a day passes without new infections, although thankfully, the kids shrug the virus off pretty quickly. Mrs L had dodged the virus thus far, by being disciplined about her mask and social distancing, but that’s not the done thing anymore. I generally do not spend any time with anyone indoors. We’ve not been eating out, and golf is very much an outdoor thing.
Mrs L’s case has been mild. More of an irritant than anything else. Mine has, as they say, put me on my arse. Generally, my constitution is not overly bothered by viruses. I’m lucky. It’s usually Mrs L who can be laid low by a cold, which can become a chest infection that requires antibiotics. However, Friday and the weekend, I have reverted to a pre-infant. Within a couple of hours of getting up, I’m ready for a nap. First order of business after lunch? Yep. A nap. At times, I needed a nap before being ready for my nap. When not napping, I’ve been sniffing, aching and chugging paracetamol to offset the headaches.
Today (Monday), I feel improved, if not fully restored. My test is still firmly positive, but I'm on the mend. I have no idea if my relatively mild symptoms are a result of being fully vaccinated, although I’m very strongly inclined to believe that they are. To be fair, I have no personal experience that tells me jumping off my roof will hurt, but I’m prepared to accept the overwhelming empirical evidence that it would. I feel the same about vaccination.
Now, I would write more, but it’s time for my pre-nap nap.
My writing is supported by people like you. You can become a member of the site here . Members access the serialisation of my first novel draft, and give comments to me in a member's Slack. They also get a free electronic copy of anything that I publish during their membership. Sign up - help me move writing from a side-project to a main project.
