It ain't Man Flu

When he woke yesterday morning Robert was exhibiting some of the symptoms of Man Flu; he had a sore throat and runny nose. 

Although he had only been out in the community on a couple of occasions in the previous week he thought he should do the right thing and get a Covid test. We want to hold on to the one precious pack of RATs we have so he took himself off to a local testing centre where the queue and wait was very short.

Robert is fully vaccinated, having had his booster in mid December. We were both fairly sure that the result would come back negative as Robert is quite fastidious about mask wearing, hand hygiene, and social distancing. We rarely stray far from our home and avoid crowds when we have to leave our sanctuary;  we hadn't been near the one other family member who is currently positive in nearly two weeks.

When my eyes were barely open this morning he put his phone under my nose and said "read this". He had a positive result so we both have to stay home and isolate for seven days. 

We put our isolation plan into practice. As a close contact I went off to have the required Covid test while Robert gathered some provisions and clothing and moved into our guest quarters downstairs. The Lake provides us with much fresh air and we have high ceilings so we have opened doors and windows for airflow.

We are fortunate that the isolation area is self-contained with kitchen and bathroom facilities so Robert is able to prepare his own breakfast and lunch. I will deliver his dinner and any other necessaries to the landing halfway down our stairs. Our house design allows us to easily distance and isolate. During this time Facebook Messenger will be our means of communication with each other and family members.

This situation is a bit of a wake up call for me as I am thoroughly spoilt by my husband who serves me breakfast in bed each day, cooks the dinner each evening and it does the lion's share of domestic duties.

As long as his symptoms don't worsen Robert should be able to enjoy his sabbatical away from me and watch his beloved cricket in peace without complaint from me. Sorting out is stamp collection and weeding the garden will provide diversions when he tires of the idiot box.

With the amount of family history, photographs and documents that I have to organise, several books to read and the Australian Open tennis to watch I know that I will be fully occupied during this time.

I'm sure that our seven days in isolation will fly and just pray that Robert keep well and that I escape the virus.