I put my family into lockdown in March of 2020. Now, to be fair, my very introverted wife was very okay with never having to leave the house. My soon-to-be 1-year-old son was just starting to learn how to walk and so he was generally okay with not leaving the house as well (this would soon change). Fucking toddlers, am I right?
I, however, was not okay with not being able to get out and see friends, acquaintances, random people, because I am an extrovert. But, do you know what I fucking did? I sucked it up and spent the spring, summer, and fall, honestly the only good reasons to live in Minnesota, inside protecting my family and yours because we were dealing with a deadly pandemic.
Coloring easter eggs over Zoom, while really fucking cute, is not the same thing. A weekly family video check-in, while nice, is not the same for a family that is really close and gets together often. We were literally 2 miles (north and south) apart from one another, and we couldn’t get together. Spoiler Alert, we could but we were trying to protect one another.
I took my son out for trick or treating at Halloween, the Halloween before he was in a hospital, and for this one, we had to socially distantly walk around and see our friends and neighbors (Oh also his mother had to stay home because of, ya know, the thing. I took some pictures but that does not compensate for not being able to bring your kid out to trick or treat). It was fun, but nothing like my memories of Halloween. Do you guys remember Halloween 91?!
My son and his cousin were unable to spend Christmas together because of this fucking thing. This fucking thing prevented my parents from seeing their grandkids open presents together on Christmas morning! And from me seeing my siblings and my wife from seeing hers.
And yet, we trudged on. Vaccines were on the way, there was an end in sight, so we sucked it up. We made the sacrifices of connection, especially important connections at the earliest parts of development because we wanted everyone we love and care about to survive, to live, to be there at the end of the road. We got vaccinated, because we cared about protecting ourselves and the people that we love, respect, and also put up with. We implored friends and family to get vaccinated as well, and we are so very proud that almost all of you did, whether you needed our nudge or not.
We made those sacrifices and yet we lost people, important people who we were unable to attend funerals for, because ya know, the fucking thing, and we kept going. We kept going because the only way to go is forward. No one who has ever gone backward has done well, sorry Marty McFly.
Foolishly I thought we were on the right end of a terrible, terrible curve. Outside of a terribly uninformed body-building brother the entire family (both sides) were vaccinated (except the little ones of course). My wife and I had brought another tiny human into the world in May and managed to not get the thing. Life seemed mostly back to normal, at least as normal as it could possibly be for the next 5-10 years.
We made plans, hell I have been dreaming about a 40th birthday trip to Europe to catch some Liverpool and FC St. Pauli soccer, we’ve made plans to be in Florida with family, Mexico with family, we’ve made plans.
And yet, there are so many people in this country who refuse to believe in science, who refuse to believe in the common good, who refuse to believe in the golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
I write all of this to preface the following statement: AN UNVACCINATED ASSHOLE GAVE MY IMMUNOCOMPROMISED VACCINATED FATHER-IN-LAW COVID WHO THEN GAVE IT TO HIS (VACCINATED) WIFE, HIS (VACCINATED) DAUGHTER, MY 2.5-YEAR-OLD SON & MY 3-MONTH-OLD DAUGHTER. I have somehow not tested positive, vaccines, they work. And so far, everyone has been okay, no aggressive symptoms, again, vaccines, they work.
My family spent the last 18 months being the most careful motherfuckers on the planet and yet this thing wormed its way into my immediate family. And quite frankly I am fucking pissed! We’ve done the things, to the letter. This thing should be over. We are letting vaccines expire and yet we don’t have proper immunity. I see dumb motherfuckers out with signs saying, “My Body, My Choice” and I laugh-cry because of all the pro-choice work I have done in my life, and I know these dumb assholes do not see the irony of those signs.
I should not at this point in our history, have to call my parents and aunt asking them to be tested for a thing that should already be a non-factor, because they had the audacity to come and help my wife and I, and more importantly to see their fucking grandkids! I should not have to keep my kids away from the people who love them for any extended period of time, nor should I have to quarantine myself from my family because of this bullshit, and yet here we are.
I am sick and tired, not literally, but fuck, man.