We have our first positive test in the house.

Last night, the little little started getting a little more snuggly than usual. He often does if he gets tired before bedtime, but this was maybe a little more curling up, or fidgety on my lap, and started closer to dinner than bedtime. He was a little warm, with a little bit high 98°F temperature. He was also coughing a little bit, with some phlegm sound to it. I've been struggling through some extra congestion lately, and he's also had a generously runny nose at the same time, so we gave him some antihistamine before tucking him in.

This morning, he woke up a little grumpy, and still snotty and coughing. He had a big higher 99°F temperature. So mom ran him through one of the at-home COVID tests we have.

It came back positive for COVID.

She also tested the big little, but that test said she was negative. We separated and discussed how to handle quarantine with the little little.

I pointed out that I also feel miserable. I've got a near debilitating sinus headache, and the stuff that comes with that. I came down late in some of this, with the tests already underway. I'd been considering staying in bed until I heard the dogs tussle in the house, and the kids helping break that up, and realized that it was after they should have left for the school bus. It's been a few days building up, and seems really predictably allergy symptoms. Alas, most of the COVID symptoms seem allergy related.

Ma called the school to get advice, particularly around timelines and what to do with the older. The older is allowed in school since she tested negative, but needs to wear her mask all the time, since she's been a close exposure. The younger isn't allowed back until some time after Monday, dependent on a negative test in the meantime. Ma also called and scheduled some COVID tests for all of us at the clinic; they're "better" than the at-home tests, and will at least provide some double-checking.

We settled in for some mid-week lounge. I took a morning meeting and alerted my team that I'd be out. I still have an enormous headache. Everyone is masked at home, or separated to different rooms, to help prevent any unspread spreading from happening.

COVID aside, this is an even bigger bummer because we have tickets to the baseball day game today. It might be a silver lining as it isn't turning out to be the near-sixty day that the forecast promised. It's drizzling rain, with a touch of wintry mix, just shy of forty degrees.

We took our COVID tests at the drive-through clinic a short time ago, and dropped the bigger little at school for the afternoon. The rest of us found some lunch in the kitchen, and divided to different rooms with our devices to relax or recover, or work (I think the wife is working still). I still have an enormous headache and congestion, even after taking some more allergy and headache pills.

Fingers crossed.

One of us has tested positive, and some of us have arguable symptoms, but otherwise everyone seems healthy.