Life and lessons

“Covid, definitely is not the best of things to happen to anyone, but it did give me a few life lessons”

My mother-in-law and I quarantined ourselves after having tested positive in April 2021. It was a definitely one of the most difficult experiences with fever, body ache and no loving touch that generally comforts one while ailing. It was even harder for my husband who was taking care of us along with our two-and-a-half-year-old son Kay without any help. The biggest challenge was that our house helps, cook, kay’s caretaker and cleaner could not come for obvious reasons and we had to manage all errands on our own.

Sadly, it is still challenging for men to take care of household chores. Even though my husband has always helped around the house and with the baby, I still saw him struggling with simple things.  It just made me realized how important it is for everyone to be equipped with basic life skills. Whether it is isolating or taking care of a patient, men should be able to do so as well. Times are changing and this realization will definitely affect the way we raise our children.

I kept hearing my husband hustling between rooms and managing the toddler, making him eat, clean, play and also helping my mother-in-law with her essentials. I felt really helpless for not being able to be around for him but I had to stay strong for everyone. Whenever he came to give me something through the door, we would have a quick laugh. We would exchange funny text and videos to lift up our spirits. We collectively tried to keep the mood light in which kay played an important part. Even without a TV or video screen time, no outings or playing with friends, my son did not trouble his father even once for anything. It had been the longest I had gone without holding him. He, being so little, still comprehended that this was something serious, and supported us by being strong in his own innocent way.

Passing time in the isolation was not easy as I had a lot of work that was piling up. I was feeling guilty about not being able to do it. It was quite nerve racking and I soon started to get nightmares about it. Thinking of it now makes me laugh because at that point of time, I didn’t know that I would not be able to work for a while. After a few days, I calmed myself and stopped taking calls from clients or checking my email.

Eventually, my son and husband got diagnosed with Covid too. It was the mutated virus from the second wave and though my son had minor symptom my husband got high fever and chest infections. We no longer could isolate in individual rooms and started using the whole house, which was better in terms of managing Kay. It was my sixth day but I was better than the others in the house. I had to now take up the responsibilities to cook, clean and take care of Kay. It might have been one of the most difficult times of my life as I had not fully recovered and had major fatigue but I did not have an option. What kept me going were stories of people coping in much worse situations and still helping others around them. I had no reason to complain.

While I was getting accustomed to the persisting situation, our biggest concern was my mother-in-law and my husband not recovering as expected. While battling corona myself, I had to get their tests done and step out of the house for necessary provisions, medicines and doctors’ visit.

Gradually everyone recovered and I realized that we were very lucky as none of us needed to be hospitalized or needed any critical treatment. With the world going crazy and everyone struggling with the lack of oxygen, medications, plasma and hospital beds, I knew we got through it easy. It was a tough affair but a humbling one too. I started respecting nature, our bodies and, our minds more. I felt really empowered when I realized that I could be really strong when the opportunity arises and I am proud of myself for that. Even when I was not feeling a hundred percent, I was still able to run things smoothly without any negativity or gloom.

The best part of this experience was actually understanding my son. His endless sense of wonder and amusement always put a smile on my face even when I felt low or tired. I was secretly relieved that he tested positive otherwise it would have been an entirely a different situation to deal with. At least now I could take care of him, myself. He is a product of the modern world, so I suppose we can't teach him as much as we can learn from him over the course of our entire lives.

The entire experience was a bag of mixed emotions and I felt really overwhelmed and blessed at the same time. We all kept our spirits high to exemplify it for my son that one can sail through difficult situation while still laughing and having fun. The most important lesson that I learnt was that If I expect my son to grow up to be resourceful, healthy and happy, then I need to lead by example.