My Beautiful Vacation That Ended With COVID

Every year my family takes a trip down to South Carolina, near Myrtle Beach to have a week long vacation. It’s a good time every year, pretty much, and this year was exceptionally great. It was a beautiful family time, and the weather was great. We did plenty of activities and had meals together, but we didn’t do too much. That works for a busy husband and dad like me. Being too busy on vacation just usually feels like the same everyday hustle in a different setting. The whole time there I kept thinking that when I get back, I’m going to do something different and post about the wonderful time this vacation was this year. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, I’m usually ready to go home at some point in time; especially after a week away. This time I felt like I could’ve used another week of vacation. Everything was just right this time, and I couldn’t help but to keep feeling fortunate not only to be there with my family in this beautiful house on the beach that we’d rented, but also just plain fortunate to have such a beautiful and loving family.

It’s usually a Saturday-to-Saturday trip, but this year my wife and I had to leave a day early to bring our daughter back for a dance tryout on Saturday. I wasn’t still on vacation but continued to enjoy myself on a busy weekend at home. Aside from taking my daughter to her tryout that went very well (I’m proud to say that she ended up making the company dance team at the dance school she’s been attending the past few years), I worked inside of our house on Saturday at a leisurely pace and ended up being very productive out in our yard on Sunday. I’d capped off an awesome time away with a cathartic and enjoyable time at home. I was feeling great about all of that, and I also physically felt great. I’m a 44-year-old husband and dad of three, so I usually feel pretty stressed and stretched. I was taking the time to soak in and savor every second of my time before having to head back to work and the rigors of life in the coming week.

Then Monday came, and I woke up feeling lethargic and achy. I thought, maybe I did too much over that past week or so; or maybe I’m feeling some of the effects of the touch of sunburn I’d gotten while down at the beach. Regardless, everything in me was telling me that I needed to go take a nap. I was hopelessly drained and knew that I wouldn’t be able to do anything else until I rested. I tried to sleep for about an hour, but I couldn’t get up at the end of the first hour, so the one hour turned into two. I had no reason to get up for anything, so why not, I thought.

When I finally did get up from my nap, I quickly started realizing that I wasn’t feeling any better at all; in fact, I thought, I may even feel worse than I did before getting the rest. Oh no, I thought, I think I have a virus. My next thought, naturally, was I hope it’s not COVID. I immediately went to my wife and said, “hey, I think I have a virus. If we have any COVID tests, I think I need to take one.”

In the brief time it took for her to find the test, prepare it, and administer it, I just kept thinking this can’t be COVID. This feels nothing like COVID did before, this feels more like a bug or something. Besides, I hadn’t really been around anyone since Friday morning. Certainly, I would’ve experienced symptoms before now if I’d contracted it while on the trip. Plus, the kids start school next week, I don’t have time for COVID right now. Sure enough, COVID didn’t care about any of that. The test came back positive. Somewhere along the way I had in fact been exposed.

My mind, of course, immediately went to limiting exposure to those around me, and trying to get better to test negative before my kids started school in exactly a week. “This is the worst possible time for me to get COVID,” I said to myself. Before I even got to post my cheerful piece about the beautiful family vacation I’d just taken, I ended up with COVID; what a spoiler. At least I have time to work through this and be ready for Monday, I thought. That did not happen, however.

Not only do I sit here on Sunday writing this still COVID-positive, but despite spending five straight days quarantining in one room of our house, my wife ended up testing positive by Saturday as well. Luckily, our daughter was determined to get her school and dance year started on time and fled to her grandparents’ house on Wednesday before being bitten by the bug. Fortunately, we were able to get our son out and over to their house as well before he too tested positive. They’re both still testing negative and are able to start school and activities on time; thank goodness. It’s hard to shake the feeling that we just dodged a small-scale catastrophe with all of this; especially given the timing.

I didn’t come here to write about the beautiful vacation I had, or my family’s COVID situation, though. I felt compelled to come here to issue somewhat of a PSA to anyone who may be reading: this thing is not behind us. The worst of it may be, as in widespread infection and death rates and shutdowns; etc. This virus is still very much alive and kicking, however.

My symptoms were nothing like they were last time at all. I took my test out of precaution, not because I actually thought I had COVID. This variant also seems even more contagious. My wife started to experience symptoms before bed on Friday night, and she and I had no physical contact since my positive test on Monday. She did nothing more than bring things for me to the closed door of the room I was staying in, and I never sent anything out of that room once it had come in. We’ve both had COVID before, and this time we both also experienced different and heavier symptoms than we did the first time around. I spent almost three days feeling terribly ill, and my wife’s now been extremely ill for the past two.

I beg of you all, if you feel any symptoms, any symptoms at all, please test for COVID as immediately as possible. Please be diligent in quarantining and limiting exposure to those around you if you do end up testing positive. Get vaccinated as well. I heard a new vaccine was just approved by the CDC to combat this latest variant. This variant is no joke, and I’m almost certain that I can speak for us all when I say that none of us wants to spend the end of 2024, and/or the beginning of 2025 like we spent 2020.