I got COVID for X-Mas

While it wasn't what I really wanted, it turned out to be exactly what I needed

I got COVID over X-mas. It made me sad, mad, and feel really bad.

I’d been planning for weeks to have my mother come and stay with us. My sister and brother-in-law were going to join us too and I’d been researching NY Times recipes for weeks. I had identified a creamy potato dish and a crispy brussel sprout accompaniment (especially for my mother) to pair perfectly with the annual standing rib roast.

My beloved had even taken our 165-pound dog to get washed so he would smell nice and be fluffy and beautiful for our guests.

As I was putting the sheets in the washing machine a few days before everyone was to arrive, I started to sniffle. Then sneeze. And then what I was dreading most. The cough, the sore throat, the headache, and then the fever.

I had been reading that there was a rising incidence of COVID in my area. And while I had already been vaccinated, I had that sinking feeling.

I took my coughing, aching, messy-haired self downstairs and opened the box of tests that I had gotten for free from the US Government. (Well they weren’t really free. I am sure that my tax dollars had paid for them in some way). I read the instructions, laid out the artillery, and shoved the Q-tip up my very runny nose.

It didn’t even take 15 minutes “resting on a flat surface” for the pink line to appear.

After several teary texts and phone calls, it was clear that I was going to join Kevin (McCauley Culkin) and be Home Alone this Christmas Eve.

I wasn’t all alone. I had tissues, saltines, and Christmas movies to keep me company. Love Actually, Trading Places, and Die Hard (yes, definitely a Christmas movie).

Once I finished the classics, it was time for the cozy Christmas miracle flicks with an oddly familiar story…

• They start in a picture-perfect small town in New England, the Pacific Northwest, or just outside of Chicago;

• Where the bakery, art gallery, or dog shelter is on the brink of collapse;

• When the frustrated, burned-out, or estranged hero or heroine reluctantly returns home from “the City” for the holidays;

• They have a brutal fight with their mother, father, sister, brother, or best friend about the meaning of their life and then flee out of the house in despair.

• Mysteriously, they come across their first crush whom they haven’t seen in decades (who looks adorable in a red sweater, fitted t-shirt, or knitted hat with a pom pom on top) at a local bar, bowling alley, or Xmas morning fun run. Magically their love is rekindled.

• After an earnest 5-minute talk with their reunited love, they immediately see the error of their ways. They make up with their mother, father, sister, brother, or best friend and with the support of their long-lost love, they vow to save the struggling bakery, art gallery, or dog shelter.

• As the snow starts to gently fall from the sky, the hero or heroine smiles and realizes that they have so much to be grateful for.

• Then the familiar but “you can’t quite place it” music starts to play. As the credits roll you have a warm feeling in your heart and know to your core that they all will live happily ever after.

I know that the real world today is not like these Christmas miracle movies

I also know that happily ever after is almost impossible to picture. However, watching these stories did shake me out of my foul “woe is me” mindset. They were a reminder that I am a very lucky human and have so much to be thankful for.

I’m grateful for my love, family, friends, pets, career, community, and each of you for the time you spend with me and my stories.

And while I still have a red nose, achy bones, and a nasty cough, I am truly grateful for my health.

Sending each of you wishes for a healthy and happy 2024!