A Covid Quarantine Christmas

Locked IN on Christmas

Welp, it was 21 months in the making but the Hoff House finally got hit with the Coronavirus just a few days before Christmas. Rachael tests positive, while Cyla and her Dad remain negative and the whole house quarantines over the holiday break, cancelling plans with friends and family. Not exactly the outcome we were hoping for, but there are some silver linings along the way, and as always, much to be grateful for.

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In Gratitude,

Rachael Laya & Cyla Grace Hoffman

Transcription:
[1:02] Howdy. Hi, Hi, coming in a little raspy this time. Yeah.
There we go. How's your mic? My mic is good.

[1:13] How's your body? My body is good. How's your mind? Mind is set ready to rock it.
I'm ready to rock it. Happy.
Covid christmas, quarantine New Year.

[1:29] Well, friends after nearly 20 months of somehow not getting the virus. Yes. It finally hit the Hoff House.
Not all of it just you just me, which is totally wild.
I thought that once one of us would get hit, all of us would get hit.

[1:56] I had some real concerns being vaccinated.
Double vaccinated, but not yet boosted and then, um, and you silent. Not yet vaccinated for our own personal reasons, but we'll be getting there.
Yeah. And the crazy thing is we just tested it ourselves again and mom still has Covid and neither me or dad have it correct?
We're just crazy because dad's been sleeping in your room.
I've been hugging and kissing you and we're eating food that you prepare with your hands.
Yeah. Yeah. It's really mind boggling now having been on this side of it.

[2:38] Um, how Corona has, has really infiltrated our, our house in our home and how everything works with us.
So let's back up for just a minute and give some specifics because I think it's kind of interesting to know for maybe people that are in the same boat or were scared are scared.
Um, you know, this has been a very, a very scary process.
I think as we started to hear in the beginning of the pandemic Almost two years ago, dad used to mention that it was kind of like the bully at school, right?
You knew at some point he was going to come around and beach up.
You didn't know if he was going to steal your lunch money or.
Kick you in the knees or push it down in the dirt and rub your face and it really, really hurts you. But you knew he was there and he knew he was coming for you.
And that's kind of a cool analogy is you think about how kids may think about coronavirus or Covid 19 and what it's to be expected. So we heard a lot of fear around it and for good reason.
And then the more information comes out and the more we learn about it and the more the facts and the science comes through, you know, it can kind of put your mind at ease, but until it really hits you, just never know, just.

[3:55] Try to like do the rest of hand, try to stay away from the bully,
try to help yourself when you're getting bullied by the bully and by washing your hands and wearing masks and taking proper precautions.
So you don't get beat up too hard and that's kind of why getting the vaccines important. Right. Right.
And you only got really beat beat it up.
I don't know how to say that. I only really took a beating a little bit on christmas Eve. That's right.
Yes. It was different from me. Yes, as you can tell in my voice to our listeners that know it, you know, uh, it's my workhorse.
So it's kind of unfortunate. Um, but that's really the only thing that's still affected and,
um, so to back up right, our situation um, was an interesting one only in that I traveled to new york for an award show the weekend before christmas.

[4:58] And so this was last weekend, right? And going to new york, which has become a hot spot for the newer variant and just coronavirus.
Having an uptick in general, I knew I was putting myself at risk.
It was one I was willing to take knowing that I have a healthy body and I had um, you know, something to really look forward to.
This major award I was nominated for. So you were getting an award. How could you not go and risk getting sick to get a reward and an award like that is amazing.
Thanks. But I had considered it and this is one reason I hadn't gone to another previous award show because it was just too delicate.
But um, this one we decided as a family that the risk was okay to take and I did the best I could while I was there masked up where I was supposed to, I kept my distance where we could, the event was set.
So we weren't so, you know, congested or, and confined places and things like that. But the reality is, you know, when you travel, there's a lot of people around you can't control and you just put yourself at a bigger risk. So.

[6:07] Coming home, I took a test on Tuesday to make sure that I was being safe around all the family that was coming in.
And that test said you didn't have it tested negative, but that was just a rapid test.
Right? And we've heard so much that those tests can be not accurate at all correct. Sometimes, but sometimes. No. So it was worth testing again.
So mom went, mom and me went to uh the PcR test and there was an insanely long line. It was going to last us two hours.
And then the next morning mom went back really early, waited for an hour for that place to open.
She took the test, she didn't and they told her she wasn't going to get it back for Until like two days later or so.
Just to be sure she took another rapid test and that tested her positive with the 1st 30 seconds of her taking it.
That's right. So what's interesting about that is you can test negative one day and have no symptoms.
The next day I had very light symptoms, almost like a cold. I didn't think it was corona. But I had gotten a call that I was exposed to someone who had just tested positive while I was in new york.

[7:27] So taking the extra precaution for our family. The PcR test gives you a more conclusive, more definitive answer whether or not you are carrying coronavirus.
The thing is, is that coronavirus isn't specific. Those tests don't say whether you have the delta variant or you have the new omni Koran variant or you have the original Covid 19.
You may have a coronavirus, which is traditionally a wide range of flu like strains.
And so it's not definitive, but there are so many people getting sick with flu like or cold like symptoms.
It's very hard to tell the difference, but they don't have covid or you might be you might have covid like symptoms, but you don't have covid and you have the flu.

[8:19] And so we weren't sure. But because we were going to see so much family over christmas Eve.
And nancy was in town and your nanny and gaga, your grandparents and things like that and they are high risk.
It was very important for us to make sure that we could rule everything out and then make some choices about how we were going to spend christmas.
But like you said, sigh, that test came back instantly positive and then, um, of course the day after christmas eve, it took three days to get the pcR test back.
I was of course positive there and like you said, we just took a test and I am still positive 88 days later.
However, you are five days past symptoms. Yes.
Aside from this little bit of a raspy voice. Right, Right.
So, but that's not really a symptom, it's just like a side effect.
Yeah. Yeah. Um, so what's interesting about that is for us, I'm vaccinated. Like we said at the beginning of the show, your dad is vaccinated, but I'm not.

[9:23] And just, I think that eventually, just like the rest of the vaccines you've received, you will get this vaccine as well.
But we just weren't ready. And that's interesting because you're unvaccinated living in the house with me who is officially positive and you are, you did not contract the virus, right?
Because I have a healthy immune system and vitamins.
But even though you have a healthy immune system and vitamins, that doesn't mean I have no chance of getting coronavirus.
I have a better chance of getting it.
But I have a better chance of not getting really bad symptoms because I'm little well and you have a healthy body and we do take good care of it.
Um, but that doesn't, you know, that doesn't mean you're not susceptible. We all are. It's the bully doesn't choose.
He just, he just does who himself? He kills anyone, he can or beats them up or rubs their nose in the dirt or what have you.
So what's important I think to share is that this is such a so random and it's nobody's fault, right?

[10:31] And nobody is gross because of it.
My fear for you is that, you know, your friends would find out your mom has covid and be like you, your mom's got covid or, you know, kids are cruel sometimes and they can pick on you for no reason.
That doesn't make good sense. And so one of the reasons we wanted to have this conversation today was to explain how inconsistent our experience has been with what we had feared ourselves. And,
you at ease that sometimes you can in fact be in the same house and not catch what the other person has.

[11:12] I don't know why that is, it doesn't make much sense to me. It doesn't make any sense.
Maybe were no scientists or not an epidemiologist.
We, we don't know all the information that is out there, but it's just a regular mom and kid and family And let's just say you're not quarantining in a bubble or in your room.
So you're active with me and dad.
Like we haven't isolated within our home.
Right? So that's also something to mention too, is that, um, now I don't recommend anything for anyone that's uh, you know, that's clear.
It's just our experience and it's been an interesting one.
So silent. Like you mentioned, my symptoms were very, very mild, luckily I think, except for on christmas eve, you had a little bit of, it got a little higher and then it came bump bump back down.
Yeah, I had really some soreness in my sides. It was like, someone had hit me with a bat on the sides and the trunk of my body was very, very aqui.

[12:20] But um, I woke up the next morning and I was fine right.
Much better. What's your trunk trunk? Like your tree trunk?
The trunk of your body is like, you're wasting your, your torso hips. I had no idea.
It's like if my arms and my legs were the branches and I was a tree.
This would be my tree trunk. Okay, Hair was the leaves.
Exactly. Your hair is the leaves. Um, So that was um.

[12:56] Interesting. That's all, that's all I can keep going back to because it was not how I expected this to go.
I'm grateful, super grateful that it went like this and they're not like in the hospital right now because a lot of people are, I don't have a preexisting condition of a fairly healthy body too.
And so I hope that those types of things helped create a maybe a lesser intense course of action as the bully tore through me a little bit.
But I'm so glad he avoided you and dad. And thankfully we, because we knew this information ahead of time, we were able to keep our family safe and avoid contact with the people that,
and our would be more susceptible to, um, a bigger beating from the bully, Covid bully.
So talk to me about how it feels though, because this was not at all how your holiday break was going to go quarantined in the house with your, with your mom and dad.
Honestly, it wasn't that the whole family couldn't come and couldn't spend christmas together.
It was that normally when someone gets a gift in our house, they hug the person that they got the gift from and they say like, thank you, thank you, thank you.
And they're all smiling from ear to ear and I can't even tell that you're smiling because you're wearing a mask.

[14:20] And I can't hug you because when I give you my gifts and it was weird, but it wasn't horrible, but it wasn't the best.
So we did, you're right on christmas Eve and christmas day, I did try to keep my distance.
I wore a mask when I thought my symptoms were getting intense, but actually they were retreating and um, we did do our best to make some sensible decisions within the house so that we weren't,
you know, on top of each other, so to speak because we weren't sure if you know, this would affect your dad at a later point.
So yeah, of course the snuggles, the gratitude and the big love from, you know, gift exchange and celebrating the day together was definitely a mess for me.
But while we didn't have our family here in the big group size that we normally have, yeah, it was something sweet and special to just be us.
Right. I really enjoyed it and I didn't have to wait for everybody to get coffee and that fix.

[15:22] Because that's always like I have to sit there waiting, staring at all the presents in boxes while everybody else is drinking coffee and waking up.
Yeah. Yeah. Now I know that you know you had high hopes to have sleepovers and,
play dates and go on adventures and things like that,
and because it's christmas, well it's a good two week window of downtime from school but you weren't able to really do that um minus a,
few friends that we we know and we knew were also previously exposed and,
um and their parents were okay with you playing with them outside.
Right. How is that fault from like your expectation of how the break was going to go?

[16:11] I was really sad because I didn't get to see a lot of my friends that I was like I really want to have a playdate with them because it's I have my two week window breaks whatever.
But I was really also happy because nobody was crowding in my space and my stuff that I had just gotten,
and I got some time to enjoy the present that I did get,
and normally I'm all busy at all friends houses and I got to relax with you and dad and the dogs and our pets and.

[16:47] Just watch tv and.

[16:51] Make popcorn and play board games and play card games and it was really fun to just relax and be connected.

[17:03] I agree. I really valued that too. It was surprisingly and it's kind of hard to say, but I guess if there was ever a good time to get it.

[17:13] This was the time because while we missed out on some family, which was sad of itself, but I wasn't missing our own school and you weren't missing out on big jobs because it was all,
kind of closed for the holidays.
Yeah, that's right. So For whatever it's worth, you know, getting Corona or COVID-19.
Any of these strains or viruses is, there's never a good time.
But the silver lining I think is that for us and our family, the blessings are, you know, you and dad didn't get it,
as far as we know, we did not have the opportunity to spread it because we kept ourselves quarantined to the best of our ability and you didn't have big symptoms.

[18:00] And we didn't miss out on school or dance or the big activities that,
are usual day to day calls for, um, whether it's work or play or, you know, social engagements and things that we have commitments to parts of our friends and our teams and things like that.
Exactly. So well, I'm, yeah, kind of disappointed that, yeah, it kind of came through when it did being with you guys and you guys staying healthy was, was a gift in itself.

[18:34] Yeah. So what would you tell someone else, another kid that might be experiencing this or feeling bad about coronavirus hitting their house or their friend, friends or family.

[18:49] It's gonna get better. Like there are people that have it worse. There are people that have it better, but it will be over.

[18:59] It won't last forever. It's not.
Something that will stay in your house forever. It's just, it's like a pass and go, the bully will hit you and then be like, oh, I gotta hit that other person.
So I'm going to leave you alone eventually. Our bodies are magical machines that will hope to move the bully out quickly and you kick that back and you'll get back to feeling like your old self again.
And that if someone in your house has, it might mean not everybody gets it or if you do get it, you may not have crazy symptoms or might not really.
The bully might really not take you down and that's um, a bit of an eye opening awareness that I have had in this process.
So it's good advice for parents and grown ups. Two sides.

[19:52] The boy doesn't take you down.

[19:55] Well not every time, but, but it is still scary nonetheless.
And it's okay to be scared and it's okay to be sad that you're missing out on some things and it's okay to kind of, you know more in the loss of whatever you are experiencing during this downtime.
But it's also very important to keep yourself and others safe and try to stay in your own space and do the best you can to try,
and stay healthy and maybe just enjoy the downtime a little bit, let your body heal right, right?

[20:29] Here's to a happy, healthy New Year New Year and I hope that all of our listeners have enjoyed some time with family and friends this holiday,
and we look forward to connecting with you for a better, stronger.

[20:46] NEW 2022, 2022.
Can you believe it's already 2022? No, I can't. It's hard to believe it's just in a few days, isn't it? I know.
Do you have any new year's resolutions?

[21:01] I am going to eat healthier because of covid,
I feel like it's normal and I just, I'm just eating a lot of gluten and I need to eat healthier because I'm eating too much gluten and that's going to make me weaker to that bully.
So yeah, and just in general, we need to eat strong foods and not weak foods like Jaco would say, and for you, gluten doesn't serve your gut health as.

[21:32] As it does with some other people, but it makes you weaker.
So that's a really great resolution and it's good that I'm allergic to gluten because most of the things that do have gluten are bad for you.
Yeah, or they're not great for you, you know, whole grains and things like that are good for you and a lot of people don't have a hard time with gluten.
So, you know, that you, if you do, if you're somebody that stresses with that and your body doesn't do well with that, then just like anything, it doesn't do well with, it's best to avoid it to you.
I wouldn't say that's even a resolution, but that's like a goal.
It's a goal resolution. Some tends to go away kind of quickly, but we're just going to get back on track that we need to and I'm right there with you.
I'm, yes, when we feel sick or,
yucky in your body for even just a few days or you know, even a few hours you take for granted how healthy you were before and it's very, it's a good time to.

[22:35] You know, set your intention to be healthier and more conscientious.
Put strong healthy foods in your body like brussels sprouts yeah, that you love.

[22:48] So I feel like I'm the only kid in the world who likes brussels sprouts, you might be, but I'm just going to chalk it up to me being a good cook.
You make it with bacon, like cheese, salt, cheese and salt, that doesn't make them very healthy though.
Whatever. They're still brussels sprouts.

[23:10] Yeah. And um, you know, exercise and move your body and get fresh air and do the things that make you the strongest human you can be.
And that will stand up to any bali, you know, so I'll resolve To do that with you and be intentional about our health and wellness.
2022, here's to your health and wellness friends. Thanks for listening and happy new year.
Happy new year, we'll see you again next year. See you next year. Thanks. Bye bye bye.