Heya, folks. I know I’ve been really quiet for a while. Before you can ask, yes, I’m working on Kit and yes, the book is coming. I know I’ve been saying that for three years now, but between COVID and my depression and family stuff, it’s like I’m drowning more often than breathing.

Speaking of COVID, I hope you’ve been vaccinated**. I had COVID back in late February 2020 and it had me down through most of March. I’m still dealing with long-haul symptoms, including difficulty focusing–and let me tell you, that makes writing a lot of fun.

(**fyi, normally, I'm open to differing viewpoints, but vaccines save lives and I'm not open to discussion on that. Anti-vax bullshit will be deleted with extreme pleasure.)

I started taking a multivitamin with a protein shake and Omega 3 tablet with fish oil and that is helping. FYI, if you try this, make sure you get the Omega 3 tablets that are specially made to have no aftertaste. There’s nothing so disgusting as fish oil burps.

The long COVID symptoms are miserable, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg in this family. My father in law died from COVID complications in January and my mom lost a step-sister to it just yesterday.

I know a lot of vaccine skeptics discount this virus but it’s dangerous. We have no clue how it will affect our kids twenty or thirty years from now. Some of the effects we’re seeing now are already a bad omen–there looks to be a correlation between COVID and decreased sperm count. And yes, that’s COVID the virus, not one of the vaccines. A number of clinical papers have written, but it’s early days yet, so it’s too soon to say anything with certainty. However, COVID wouldn’t the first virus to cause problems with male fertility. Mumps-related orchitis can cause infertility in men.

People who had relatively minor cases of COVID have been found to have scarred lung tissue, heart issues, etc. That’s not anything a kid should be saddled with, because typically, those problems are permanent. Scarred lungs, damaged heart muscles, these are issues that will remain problems throughout life. So, vaccinate. Protect your family, your kids.

Dementia

That iceberg I mentioned…my mother in law has been dealing with Alzheimers. I suspected she had issues with it a while back, but she’d remained stable for years. That’s not uncommon in the early stage.

People dealing with Alzheimers and other dementias need routine. Routines help preserve memory, as does social interaction. Well, a lot of social interaction went out the door for older people and those of us with compromised immune systems (hello, asthma, my old friend.)

But she still had her routine, somewhat. Her husband and they were able to participate in church, via it was online.

But then my father in law passed. It’s like a house of cards and everything tumbled. Some of y’all know that I’m a recovering nurse (and I’m never going back into that field…hell, no). I spent a couple of years in nursing homes after graduating so I’ve kind of taken point on handling my mother in law’s medical care, attending doctor appointments, driving her to whatever tests were done early on, and having her stay at our place a couple days a week so her son has a bit of break and she gets a change of scenery.

Guys, Alzheimers is hard. It’s an ugly disease that steals your loved one away from you right in front of your eyes, little by little, day by day. And it’s done so slowly, those suffering from it can feel it happening. It’s a slow, insidious monster that takes control bit by bit, day by day, week after week, destroying memories, personality.

Something that’s crucial with Alzheimers is getting diagnosed early. There has been a lot of advances made over the past couple of years and who knows, maybe a cure will be found in my lifetime. But compromised brain function can’t be undone, so if you have concerns about you, a spouse, a parent, make sure you talk to a doctor sooner rather than later.

Dealing

So, as you can imagine with deaths in the family, helping my mother in law and just trying to be there for the kids, my guy and my brother in law, I’m seeing the days slip by quicker and quicker and sometimes, an entire week disappears without me having a chance to work on my projects–I get in time on my freelance work since that’s immediately able to put food on the table, but not be able to write for me bites.

It’s official. This adulting thing sucks.

Hope y’all are doing well. Hug your people. Enjoy the little things. Read good books.