Wrestling with the Covid Kraken

For the past two days I've been wrestling with a case of Covid; two of my siblings had already started being ill earlier this week and last week, so I thought I knew what to expect. But in the end experiencing it myself was rather less agreeable even than that.

On Thursday I had a sore throat and took a sick day from work, and I took things easy and played the piano and did other quiet things until the early afternoon. Then I took a nap, and after that the full experience set in. Fever, chills, joint aches, nausea, etc. kept me awake intermittently for much of the first night, although it became better after I finally gave in and took an aspirin. Yesterday I mostly felt too weak and headache-y to even sit at a computer. Now it's better.

My mother kindly bought a supply of bananas and apple sauce, so that I could have things to eat that wouldn't unsettle my stomach, and family and teammates have been very sympathetic.

Despite the worst part of Thursday night, it's been more enjoyable than work. Its constant pressures and well-meant scrutiny from upper levels, the departure of another teammate from the company, another teammate's pain (she looks set to lose her second parent), and the deep anxiety of other teams as (with a continually reducing workforce due to the layoffs and the inability to hire more people) the amount of tasks we can finish for clients becomes smaller and smaller.

I've had to remind myself — lying awake briefly in the middle of the day or the night, and thinking — that I need to accustom myself to the thought of picking everything up again next week.

'Theirs not to question why, theirs but to do and die.'