Happy New Year!
2020 went out with a bang around here and I wouldn’t have expected anything different.
COVID has been making its way through both homes for the last six weeks or so and Finn was the last one to go down. Everyone including his pediatrician was shocked that he got it so much later after the adults. I took him to the doctor thinking he had strep and he ended up testing positive for COVID. His pediatrician was so surprised that he did another strep test to make sure that he didn’t transpose the swabs the first time.
Finn’s COVID symptoms were more flu-like. He threw up once, told me his tummy hurt all day and had a fever of around 103 that didn’t come down with “purple medicine” (Tylenol). He was lethargic, flushed and seemed to be achy. It was a very worrisome day but luckily he was down for under 24 hours. He woke up the next day fever-free and back to his normal activity level.
While it was difficult to be away from my family over Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am feeling extra grateful right now that we made that hard decision and didn’t unintentionally bring COVID to them. It’s all been so scary and stressful to deal with and I hope that it’s behind us now.
For several reasons, it was decided that Finn would spend the first half of his isolation with me so I swapped weekends with his dad and canceled my NYE weekend plans. While it was a bummer and felt like one last punch from 2020, it also felt like a gift to be able to spend New Year’s with Finn. We got cuddled up in jammies and had quiet night in. No one else I’d rather snuggle into 2021 with!
Dorie stopped by and left a sweet delivery on my porch.
It was a needed treat/surprise given the NYE dinner that I ate. This was parmesan couscous topped a veggie burger that I melted brie on top of and balsamic roasted brussels, mushrooms and shallots.
I didn’t mind my boring New Year’s Eve dinner because my New Year’s Eve Eve dinner was a delicious sushi delivery. The sushi is from Koishi for my local readers. They do a good job and have a reasonable price point.
And on New Year’s Day I had a traditional meal of Honey Baked Ham, black eyed peas, green bean casserole and cheddar cornbread. It was my first time cooking black-eyed peas and I think I did a pretty good job with them. I also had collards but they didn’t make it onto my plate before I took this photo. 🙂
So that’s what’s been going on around here. All of 2020 was a doozy and the end was no different. I’m hopeful that 2021 brings more ease and normalcy.
In my next post I’ll be sharing about the project that I worked on for all of 2020. I can’t wait to FINALLY fill you in on it.
Sending you all wishes of health, love and prosperity in this new year.
QUESTIONS
How did you spend New Year’s Eve?
Do you eat any type of special or traditional New Year’s Day meal?
Wishing you and yours health, love, laughs, and prosperity in 2021!
Thank you, Jackie! Happy New Year!
Glad Finn is okay. I had covid at the beginning in March. In a way, its kind of been a relief to get it over and done with, and stop wondering / thinking the worst. Best wishes to you and the family for 2021
I think it’s important for people to know that antibodies from an active Covid infection only lasts 3-4 months and reinfections are not only possible, but becoming more common.
It is not accurate to think you’re guaranteed to be immune forever, but also very inaccurate to suggest immunity will only 3-4 months. There’s much more to immunity to antibodies and recent studies suggest immunity in most people is long term, meaning a year if not more.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/health/coronavirus-immunity.html
Me too, it was a scary experience. I’m relieved to hear that you are okay after having covid. Happy New Year to you as well Andrea!
Happy 2021 Jen!! I’m sorry to hear you were hit with Covid but glad everyone is feeling better ❤️ We spent a quiet NYE but honestly that’s just how I like it. Spending this weekend cleaning, organizing, putting away Christmas, and doing some much needed food prep.
Happy New Year Christina! I also love a quiet NYE. I didn’t have anything crazy planned, just a dinner with a few friends but we can do that anytime. I had a similar weekend and it felt so cozy and grounding to get everything neat and clean and to cook!
Wow – I totally missed you having COVID, so glad you seem to be doing better. How was it? I’m so so glad that Finn seems to be feeling better! I can’t wait to hear about your big project!
You didn’t miss anything…I didn’t blog about it. I was very fortunate to have a super mild case and I’m SO relieved that Finn’s bout with it was short and that he’s back to normal.
Sorry to hear! Hope your boys is ok. Do you know how it was passed on to you? Through friends etc? I’m still able to keep my house covid free but I know it’s a true risk every time we interact with others.
Hi Anna – thank you. I’m relieved he’s okay. I honestly have no idea how I contracted covid. I can’t trace it to any one thing/event/person. It was a weird experience.
Aww, sorry to hear that Finn caught COVID. I have it right now, too. My husband got sick first and (I assume) gave it to me. One of our sons (age 8) had a cough for a couple of days, and the other has had no symptoms.
As a result, we did very little for NYE: we watched the ball drop at 10 p.m. EST and went to bed shortly thereafter. . . though I wasn’t able to go to sleep for hours because of our neighbors setting off fireworks (and terrifying one of our dogs). I didn’t do any sort of special meal, just didn’t have the energy.
Oh Sharon, I am so sorry that you have covid right now. I hope that you feel better and better every day and that everyone in your family is okay. I dealt with fireworks here too and Benji was NOT a fan. I had to turn on a white noise app really loud on my phone.
Aw, sorry to hear Finn was sick but I’m glad to hear he got over it so quickly! I didn’t realise you had had it too.
For New Year’s Eve we just stayed at home and had a nice meal and played some board games. Here in Scotland we aren’t allowed to meet indoors at all so we didn’t really have a choice to do anything exciting…but it actually worked pretty well for me as I am 28 weeks pregnant and definitely couldn’t be bothered to go out! I didn’t even stay up til midnight!
In Scotland the tradition is to have a steak pie on new year’s day. I don’t know if you even have them in America…I have a feeling you don’t? If you don’t know what I’m talking about they are delicious – like slow cooked steak stew in a thick gravy, maybe made with ale, inside a pastry crust with a pastry lid. I don’t eat much meat any more but it’s still nice to have the traditional New Years pie!
Yes, I didn’t blog about it but I had it around Thanksgiving. I was very fortunate to have a mild case but it was mentally stressful to deal with and I just couldn’t handle sharing it publicly while not getting super anxious about it.
I think your NYE sounds perfect. I have heard of savory pies like the steak on you mention but haven’t had steak pie. It sounds delicious and I’d love to try one!
Jen I had it around thanksgiving also, was in the ER that Friday 🙁 sorry to hear you had it too but so glad you and Finn are feeling better ♥️
So good to hear that Finn is feeling better. It amazes me how differently this virus affects people. I did not realize you had cv19. Or, maybe you didn’t post it . Either way, glad you both are ok. Happy New Year.
It’s so wild how much the covid experience can differ for people. I had a very mild case around Thanksgiving and didn’t blog about it at the time because it was stressful and I was anxious about it.
I’m so glad to hear Finn is on the mend. And I’m excited to hear (read) about your new project! I’d love if you blogged about your COVID experience… no other bloggers I follow seem to have contracted it and in my circle of friends/family, so far no one has had it. I know symptoms can vary BROADLY but if you’re comfortable, I’d love to hear about your experience with it.
I had covid around Thanksgiving and while I had an overall mild case, it was stressful and created a lot of anxiety for me. I don’t think know if I’ll blog about it in detail because I’ve found it personally difficult to manage all of the varying opinions/thoughts/judgements/etc that have come with covid year.
I totally appreciate and respect that. Know that there would be ZERO judgment on my end. I think we all just have a lot of curiosity about it because the stigma has led to less people sharing their day-to-day experiences with it… which in turn perpetuates fear and while I suppose some level of fear is healthy (as a motivator to take the necessary precautions), some is purely anxiety-inducing and unproductive.
Anyway, I am so happy you and Finn made a full recovery. Sending you love, as always.
I’m also interested in hearing your Covid experience. I’m in seattle and none of my friends have had symptoms (yet). Glad Finn is okay now, poor guy!
Hi Jackie – I’m so relieved that Finn is okay. This has all been stressful and scary. I had covid around Thanksgiving and as I responded to Maeve, I don’t think I’ll blog about it in detail because it’s been hard for me to manage all of the varying opinions/thoughts/judgements that have come with this whole year of covid. Overall, my case was super mild, I was lucky not to expose Finn and to be able to isolate away from him and I’ve made a full recovery. Having covid created a lot of anxiety for me and it was really hard not to see Finn for almost two weeks.
You were so fortunate to be able to recover without Finn around, but yes, two weeks apart would be very difficult. So glad to hear you are both well now. Happy new year— this will be a better one!
I am so glad Finn is ok! I’m sorry to hear you both had Covid. I’d be interested in a post if you’re willing to share your experience as well.
We had a low key New Years this year and ended up being asleep by 11pm-which is late since we have a 4 year old who likes to get up at 7am everyday. Haha.
I’m looking forward to hearing about your new project!
Hi Michele – I’m so relieved that Finn is okay. It’s been a stressful and scary time. I answered Maeve and Jackie below about my feelings on sharing my covid experience. I don’t think I’ll be writing an in-depth blog post just to preserve my own mental sanity. <3
That sounds scary! So glad Finn wasn’t down for long. Looking forward to reading about your project. Happy New Year Jen!