My winter holidays this year have been very on-brand for 2020. We started with the world’s skinniest Christmas tree, one of about half a dozen we could find still for sale in the entire town three weeks back. That was followed with the common affliction of some of our gifts and mail not arriving by the expected date. (I’m still waiting on one item I ordered in November!) Then on Christmas day, about three o’clock in the afternoon, I received a phone call from my manager informing me that a colleague with whom I had worked three days earlier had tested positive for COVID. We’re on top of our mask game there, but I was advised to start quarantine immediately. Good thing we’d already opened presents!

I informed my husband and son that game night was cancelled, then moved into my office/guest bedroom. I’ve mostly lived there since, wearing a mask when I emerge into the common areas of the house. I’ve had no symptoms and had my own COVID test done this past Tuesday, with a negative result. Yay! But my referring physician and our local health department say to quarantine for 14 days from exposure even with a negative test.

It hasn’t been all that bad, to be honest. I have a lot of advantages. I’m not sick, is the main one. We have a spare room, which is where my desk is anyway. My husband has done curbside pickup of groceries for us. I got an extra week off of work. I’ve been sleeping and sleeping and sleeping, finally catching up after a quarter century of sleep deprivation. I’ve also done a lot of creative writing, read a couple of books, kept up with my Spanish lessons on Duolingo, and even done a little work from home for my job so that I won’t be impossibly far behind when I return. Oh, and Kakuro to keep my mind sharp, thanks to a timely Christmas gift.

Still, I have felt a little claustrophobic. Thank goodness solo outdoors activities are allowed. I’ve been walking three miles a day, wearing a mask and avoiding trails that might be crowded. It’s kept me sane.

I hear the year 2020 has one last “gift” to drop off for us on its way out the door. We’re supposed to receive a massive ice storm starting around an hour before midnight tonight, New Year’s Eve. Oh 2020, you’re staying true to yourself to the very end.

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