Can We Talk?

“Mom, can we talk?” C’s voice came through his bedroom door where he’d been in quarantine since testing positive for covid the night before. “I haven’t talked to anyone all day long!”

That wasn’t quite true. Since his symptoms were mild, he had been out biking with my hubby that morning. But I had been gone all afternoon and hadn’t been able to spend time with him outside. “Didn’t you talk to Daddy when you were biking?”

“Well, no one besides Dad,” he replied.

Poor guy, I though. “Give me a few minutes, I’m getting your sisters into bed.”

Once the girls were tucked into bed, I turned my attention to how to hold a conversation with C while avoiding his germs. Should we both wear masks? That hadn’t protected me when I got covid from my girls last spring, although caring for sick 1st graders was definitely different than caring for a sick middle schooler. He wouldn’t cough in my face or wipe his nose on my shirt, most likely. Still, getting covid would be such a hassle. Should we talk through the door? That seemed awkward, and a little too loud given the proximity of his room to his sisters’.

Finally, I decided we would Zoom. I logged into zoom with my personal account on my phone and gave it to C. Then I got my computer and logged into my work account, plopping myself onto the couch. C sprawled on his bed while I relaxed on the couch, carrying our conversation from different rooms in the same small house. The germ-free version of our usual bedtime conversation.