Parenting in Times of COVID-19, Part 3: I’ve Got Chills… They’re Multiplying

My wife finally came home, then we agreed she should stay in a hotel for the time being.

I woke up in the middle of the night with chills. I must have been having a fever. But my joints ached too much to care. I bundled up as best as possible and tried to go back to sleep. Twenty minutes later, I got up, checked on the little girl, and then took some more cold and cough medicine. I fell back asleep around four in the morning. It was day three of this COVID-19 adventure that started on Monday and continued on Tuesday.

The next time I woke up, I was next to a curvy ginger. The orange tabby cat, about ten pounds overweight, was next to me, purring. A few minutes after that, my daughter joined us. She was happy, though still a little congested and with a slight cough.

“Good morning, good-lookin’,” she seemed to say.

The body aches are the worst. We went to Starbucks to get a chai tea latte and a chocolate milk for the kiddo. As soon as I got back to the house, I climbed on the couch and took a nap. My daughter played in the living room with her myriad of toys while I tossed and turned. The chills came and went, so I continued to medicate as best as possible.