Say a little prayer...

 Hello Readers,

How’s your 2021 going so far?  I know I said 2020 was rough for a lot of people.  Thankfully, it wasn’t that rough on myself or family.  For the most part, my Dad was on unemployment for a bit because of the stay in place or “safer” in place orders that shut a lot of small businesses down.  Both my brothers that work for a printing company has been on unemployment since April~May sometime.  Husband and I managed to keep our jobs and we’ve been working from home since March of last year.  Everyone was also healthy.

I wish I could say the same for 2021.  We’re just entering the 3^rd week of January and so far, my cousin and her in laws tested positive for Covid-19.  My two brothers have been sick for roughly a week now.  My grandpa has also been sick for about two weeks, in turn, grandpa got grandma sick.  And worse, she fell off the bed last Saturday.  Since everyone is sick in LA, my parents didn’t allow me to go home to visit grandma because they were worried that I’d be exposed and in turn, infect my in laws and my husband.  We normally go home on Sundays to visit family, every weekend.  It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve been home, so husband and I decided to drop off some pastries for grandma because she hasn’t had a real meal in 3-4 days now.  I did not plan on going into the house, but I couldn’t stop by and not say hi to grandma so I went in to see her.  When I saw her, my heart shattered and I fought hard to hold back tears.  She looked so fragile and small, curled up in her bed.  She could barely turn her body to face me and her voice cracked when she tried to talk to me.  It was so hard for me to see her like this.  So weak, so fragile, so small and in so much pain.  While I was there, I was able to give her a few sips of water.  I tried to convince her to eat, but she was being so stubborn.  I didn’t stay long because I couldn’t hold back my tears anymore.  I stepped outside for a few minutes just so she didn’t have to see me cry.  While I was in their room, grandpa sat up and had a few sips of water on his own.  When he laid back down, he started coughing and it seemed like he had a hard time breathing.  He sounded like he was having an asthma attack.  I couldn’t bare to see them this way and I felt so helpless that I couldn’t ease their pain or make them comfortable. 

On our way home, I cried as Joey held my hand and tried to comfort me.  I asked him if he’d be upset if I decided to move home for several weeks to care for my family.  Of course he was understanding and encouraging and agreed that it might be a good idea.  I’m a little sad that we’ll be spending some time apart, but I’m hoping that with me being around grandma, it’ll help lift her spirits up and with a little bit of encouragement, I’m hoping that I can convince her to eat.  I want to spend time with her and help her recover faster.  With me being there, I’m hoping that she’ll fight a little harder because she loves to spend time with me.  It’s not just grandpa and grandma that are ill.  Mom has been feeling tired and sick too.  Dad has a scheduled ultrasound on Monday which I’ll accompany him to since I actually have Monday off as a holiday.  Mom has two scheduled appointments with her thyroid specialist on Thursday and Friday.  My brothers were supposed to accompany her to those appointments, but since they’ve been sick, I’ll take Mom instead.  Since I’m going to be around them, it’s in our best interest for me to stay over there and quarantine with the family until it’s safe for me to come home or until grandparents and Mom start to feel better.  I know I can’t help much because I’m not a doctor, but I’m hoping that my presence there will lift their spirits up and they’ll recover faster or at least lessen the burden of having to take care of each other while everyone is still sick.  I hope and pray that this covid pandemic subsides and that my family will make a full recovery.  I don’t ask for much, I just want my family to be happy and healthy.  Please don’t take that away from me.