My Son Has Covid

He tested positive after a bout of runny nose and sore throat

I had been waiting for this day

After taking preventive tests day after day

Time after time receiving emails

Saying he had been a close contact

To someone at school

Or on the bus

Or at basketball practice

I thought about all of the places we had been this week

All of the things he had touched

At home and at school

The barbells at the local YMCA

Who might have touched those after him

An elderly gentleman?

An immunocompromised teen?

Yes, we follow protocol and wear our masks

We wash our hands,

We use our wipes,

But sometimes it’s not enough

And here we are in a home with one person quarantined

They said I can still go to work as long as I’m masked

Even though I work with children who rarely keep their masks on correctly

Even though I work with others that could bring it home to their compromised family members

I feel guilty like I did something wrong.

I may spread it to someone else unknowingly,

But I also don’t want to use all of my sick time

And lose my measly 20 dollars an hour wage

To keep the lights on

While my son with Covid stays home alone

We must still pay the bills

We must save our sick time for when we really need it

But many of us have no sick time

No insurance

No one to take care of the little ones

No one to hear the fear in our voice as we hear our child’s raspy cough

The fear of us getting it and spreading it

The fear of who have we been in contact with and who have we passed it to

We must keep working

Time stops for no one

We must keep spreading it

Kids need to learn

Just a minor inconvenience

They say

Don’t stop pressing

Drink your O.J

And punch the clock

Don’t let this slow you down

The world needs you

I call bullshit

My child is sick

I will stay home and take care of him

You can find another cog for your rusty wheel

I will not sacrifice my child’s feelings of being loved, nurtured, and being taken care of

To take care of other peoples children for not enough compensation

To keep my bills paid

I will do what is right for my family

I will take care of my kid

I will not mask up to prove I am tough enough

To be a super spreader

I will take my time off and I will wait until I know I am healthy before returning

And that should be the expectation

But we are short-staffed and there are no subs

Then maybe it’s time to change the way we are doing this Covid thing.

Maybe we should learn from the overrun hospitals and nurse’s offices.

Maybe we should learn from the families who have lost loved ones

Maybe we should stop disorienting ourselves from reality.