“Mild” COVID, Long Hauling, & The Holidays.

It was the end of February, COVID was new on the horizon, yet distant for me in the Southwest. New York and Seattle had a few cases, but nothing overly concerning yet. I lived so far away from either of those locations it was something I thought about, but only a little.

I still went to stores and friends’ houses, even out to eat. Though as the news from New York City and Seattle grew I had begun limiting the number of public places I would go.

It felt big, bigger than the flu.

We did not know about masks or distancing yet. However, my mom had severe COPD before she passed. Every winter there were concerns over flu and infection, so I knew to wipe down carts and to stay a few feet away from others. Yet that was just good practice, not COVID induced.

Soon after those initial cases were reported, the panic began.

Stores were empty. There was no food or water and toilet paper was almost impossible to find. I went out to find what I could. Single, I did not have a large storage of essentials on hand.

At the same time, our city got its first confirmed case. I did not think I needed to stay home, but I limited how often I went out and time spent with crowds.

It was just precautionary; we were not told to respectfully fear the virus yet.

So I still went to my local pub. I work for myself and I always work best there. I never went when it was busy, I do not want to…