October Re-Do

Can we press restart on October?? Whew, it's been a rocky month so far. We escaped COVID for so long, but it finally came to our household. As I wrote about in my last post, Eli's class closed on Friday, the 24th from a positive case. We made arrangements for him to attend Grammy Daycare for the following week, and he enjoyed time at the park, walks around the neighborhood, and rediscovering his books and toys at Grammy's. 

On Wednesday morning, Eli began showing symptoms of a barking cough and a fever. It was similar to the RSV episode back in August, but because of the case in his class, we did an at-home COVID test and then confirmed at the doctor's on Thursday. Our little guy tested positive :( I was glad that Dr. Albright was able to look him over, and he soothed any fears that I had. I didn't feel as fearful as I did this time last year. I am thankful for the advancements with vaccines, and I have prayed that all of the adults stay healthy. Grammy and Grandpa graciously offered to continue to watch Eli and Emmy too while we wait out their quarantine. They will be able to return to school on Monday, the 11th. Aside from a lingering cough, both kids seemed to be their usual happy, energetic selves. Luckily the weather has been nice for being outside, and they have had some indoor fun on the rainy days. 

Amidst handling COVID, my sister and I had an unfortunate incident after our Saturday morning run. When we returned to our vehicles, both of our catalytic converters had been stolen! We didn't immediately know what was wrong, but when we turned our cars on, there was a loud roaring noise, like a Harley Davidson. We drove first by my parents' house for my Dad to take a look, and then we went directly to the car garage. The catalytic converter is underneath the vehicle, so it does not actually affect the engine. However, it makes a very loud noise, and it will not pass inspection. We had to file a police report and file a claim with our insurance company. Luckily nothing else was stolen or damaged, but the whole incident has shaken us up a bit. We have been running at Salem Lake for years, but we will be running elsewhere for the next few weeks. 

And just to add one more annoying thing, a purple crayon went through a load of clothes, and several of Boomer's dress shirts and a pair of his khaki pants were ruined!

With all this mess, I've been trying to stay focused on the positive and on the many blessings in my life. First and foremost, I am so very thankful for the strong support system that I have. My parents have jumped right in to watch the kids while Emmy and Eli have been out of school. They have feed them meals, monitored temperatures, and given extra TLC. I am also so thankful for Boomer. He has stayed calm through the chaos as we have problem-solved the many mishaps of this month. On the same Saturday of the car incident, we had plans to go to the Wake vs. Louisville football game with some of Boomer's college friends. Luckily we still made it there before game time to enjoy lunch in the Pollard Club. The football game counted as Boomer's birthday celebration, and we splurged on the all-inclusive food and drink package. The best part was that Wake came away with the win. Happy birthday to Boomer! :) Here's hoping that the rest of October is a smooth and healthy month!