This was my first full winter with ICL, and I think the isolation really got to me. There were entire weeks this winter where the only adult I saw was my husband, where the only people I talked to other than my husband and kids were doctors, nurses, and home health care workers. Literally every single conversation I had with a living being not related to me revolved around health care.
It was extremely depressing, incredibly annoying, and very desperation-inducing. My pharmacist is now unfortunately aware of the intimate details of my struggle to provide unburnt French toast for my twins on the morning of the third Monday of January, and my local ID's receptionist understands in great detail the intricacies of elementary school bus drop-off for my son on cold winter afternoons.
Coming back to the world after weeks of being too sick to be in it sucks. There's always this feeling of a planet that moves at a different speed than you do. Always a fear that everyone has packed up and left while you were away, leaving you behind in the dust to start from scratch. Not everyone understands that you'll leave the world for a month (or two or three) and then want to come back like nothing ever happened.
But it's almost springtime now!
Spring means the isolation is almost over. Spring means being able to go outside, being able to meet friends in the clean, warm air where there isn't any chance of spreading or catching disease, being able to meet in a public place without coming home sick yet again. Spring means the end of flu season, RSV season, rotavirus season, gastro-enteritis season, H3N2 season, strep season, its-going-around-the-school season, cough-and-you'll-catch-it-season, community-acquired pneumonia season, respiratory infection of unknown origin season, and cold season. Spring!
Spring means hope again. A normal life, at least for a while. A walk outside with the twins. A breath of fresh air. A trip to the park. Safety. Peace. A place to sit without a ceiling. A chance to recover before dealing with the madness of winter again.
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