A Family Milestone

For the last few months, Kiddo has been so close to being as tall as me--just a centimeter or two short--but when he came downstairs today, I realized that his shirt was looking short. We had to buy him an all-new wardrobe the last time we were evacuated because he had outgrown everything and it seemed that, just a few months later, we needed to do it again. Which meant (!!) that he had probably reached my height. Standing back to back today made it was official. We are the same height!

First Day of In-Person School! Again!

Are my kids tired of taking first day of school pictures? Yes.

Do I care? Nope! 

Anytime they can go back to school in-person is cause for celebration!

Yes, CJ is still in her pjs.

Gotta get the pic before the older kids go to school!

Five Years Living Abroad

Getting Covid really put in a wrench in our all our anniversary plans: our anniversary of moving to India and also our five-year anniversary of moving abroad. We had big plans to go to an Indian blini fusion restaurant, which seemed very fitting, but decided we should probably not go out just yet. So it was a quiet dinner at home, but it was spent discussing all of the adventures we've had: friends we've made, places we've travelled, foods we've eaten. We have no idea how much longer we will be in India--or anywhere else, really--but no matter where we are, we will enjoy it together.

Five-year anniversary picture!

Our first week in India

Our first week in Russia

Getting ready to leave for Russia

Three Years in India . . . and I got Covid

Two weeks prior to testing positive, Henry had a friend get Covid and Brandon had a coworker test positive. So already Brandon was staying home from work and the kids weren’t playing with anyone. Karnataka had only just dropped their weekend and night curfews so we weren’t going anywhere, either. There was once when I went to a neighbor’s house to pick up some books--we were both masked up--but aside from the grocery store and taking walks around the complex, I didn’t go anywhere, either. All that to say, we were already being very cautious.

On the evening of January 26th, I was feeling some cold symptoms: mostly sneezy, itchy nose. I thought that maybe my allergy meds had worn off, but it felt like I could also be getting sick. The next morning, I got up and worked out as usual. But about a third of the way through my morning walk around the complex, I realized that I didn't have any more energy. I couldn't walk faster even when I tried, so I cut the walk short and went home. By the time I finished eating breakfast and showering, I was sniffly and tired, and started to feel a little achy. I told the girls I was staying in my room and not to come in, consulted with Brandon via text, and scheduled a Covid test. The next available appointment wasn't until the following morning. I spent the day in bed, feeling like I had a bad cold and hoping that that was all it was. 

At 6:30 am on the 28th, I got tested at the doorway of our apartment (only $10 for someone to come test you at home!) and went back to bed. Eight hours later, I got the results: I was positive. I immediately contacted our complex to let them know and they assigned me a liaison resident to give the guidelines, help answer any questions, make sure we have food and supplies, and anything else that I may need help with. Because testing positive meant that our entire apartment was immediately under quarantine, no longer able to leave for 8 days after my positive test results. (Good thing the kids were still doing remote school!) The complex guidelines were also things like: all deliveries must be made and received without human interaction, garbage pick up would be made at different times than the rest of the complex, etc. I would continue isolating in my room in the hopes that the rest of the family would stay Covid-free. My positive test result was also automatically sent to the government, so I received daily Whatsapp messages and phone calls--either in person or automated--telling me to stay isolated, my vaccination status, asking what symptoms I had, etc. Two interesting symptoms they asked about were “chest pain or abdominal sweating” and more than four “loose motions” during the day. Nope, all good here.

On the 29th, we celebrated our three-year anniversary in India by taking a quick selfie, ordering from our favorite biryani place, and eating separately. 

By then, I was mostly feeling fine. A little tired, a slight sore throat, coughing a little if I talked too much, but if I didn't know I had Covid, I would have thought I was fine. Brandon brought me food, he and the kids wrote me get-well cards, I had a stack of books to read, and once Brandon brought a chair so I didn't have to sit on my bed all day, I was actually quite comfortable. There’s no Wi-Fi or TV in our bedroom so my activities were somewhat limited. I did yoga in the mornings and ignored the advice of my complex "buddy" to take deep breaths every morning. I still tried to help where I could--yelling from my room when CJ needed to get on her next zoom call, reminding the family to take out the trash at the right time, ordering groceries and food delivery. Still, it was the most downtime I’ve ever had in my life.

Having a giant window in our bedroom helped keep me sane

Today, Brandon and the kids got Covid tested. The schools are opening up again and the kids need a negative test in order to go back. Plus, it just seemed smart to get everyone tested, just in case.

They came back negative!