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In: COVID-19, Punishment
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As you probably read, Lion has COVID too. I don’t know who gave it to me, but I most certainly gave it to Lion. It wasn’t intentional, of course. I spent a day or two feeling like garbage, but that may be because I was still doing quite a bit between the sale of the truck and camper and keeping the house running. Yesterday wasn’t so bad until I had to get Lion’s antiviral drugs. I just took it easy for the rest of the day and I’m feeling less sick every day.

Lion was certain he was dying last night. He’s always certain he’s dying when he has a cold or the flu. I’m not sure if COVID or the antiviral made him feel worse. Today, he’s still tired but he’s not dying. I told him to stay in bed, but he ventured into his office for a little while this morning. Once I do a few things, I’m heading back to lie down. There’s no reason either of us has to be up and about. Of course, we’ll need to pee and get food and drinks from time to time, but we should relax for the most part.

Every time I look at the backyard, I am reminded that the truck and camper are gone. I can’t tell you how relieved I am. We are no longer under pressure to pay for the camper, and we saved more because we don’t have to insure them. And, this is my bonus, I don’t have to drive them anymore. I didn’t mind driving the truck. It wasn’t my favorite, but it was okay. I didn’t even mind towing the camper. It was parking it in our narrow little driveway that annoyed me. Anyway, it’s nice not to worry about that anymore.

I haven’t heard about Lion being horny for a few days. It makes perfect sense. He shouldn’t be if he’s sick, but you never know with him. He’s a lot better today. For all I know, he’ll be looking for love tonight. He has a punishment waiting for him for leaving the shower door open. I was willing to overlook it, but he said I could just postpone it until we feel better. He “helpfully” moved the magnet over on the whiteboard. I’m still willing to forget it. The truth is, he’ll probably do something else before I punish him for the shower door. If that happens, I won’t add five minutes. It will be like the shower door never happened. As if, oh I don’t know, I overlooked it to begin with, which is what I wanted to do in the first place. Sometimes Lion can be stubborn. I think he forgets I can be stubborn too.

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In: COVID-19
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The American Civil War pitted brother against brother in the fight over slavery. Each side was absolutely convinced it was on the side of right. Even now, over 150 years later, some people still believe that the South had God on its side. I’m not saying that the current polarization over COVID is in the same league. But it does share some of the same blind devotion to a cause.

Even though it has killed millions of people, some believe that COVID is just a bad cold. Hospitals are fuller now than they were in Spring 2020 from that “cold.” Almost 99% of all cases are the omicron variant that some claim is very mild. Breakthrough infections are soaring. The only good news is that vaccinated and boosted people get a milder illness. They are just as contagious as people who get sicker.

I’m pretty tired of dealing with this disease. Mrs. Lion and I have N-95 masks and wear them. That’s no guarantee that we won’t get sick, but it is the best we can do. Both of us have type 2 diabetes. That puts us at higher risk. We have to be careful about every decision we make. Since being vaccinated and boosted doesn’t guarantee immunity, we have been forced to make hard choices.

For example, Mrs. Lion was supposed to attend a retirement dinner last night. It was for someone she knew for nearly a decade. She cancelled. The risk of contracting omicron is simply too great. If either or both of us get it, we are at significant risk. Does taking extreme precautions guarantee we are safe? Of course not. We still have to go to the supermarket. Our plan is to make every effort to limit our exposure.

There’s another, more serious problem with COVID, even mild cases. According to a study from South Africa, thirty percent of people who recover, suffer from long-haul COVID. Until now, no one understood exactly what is behind these long-term problems. It turns out that tiny blood clots form in the circulatory system. This isn’t unusual. The autoimmune system eliminates them. However, former COVID sufferers have extra material in those clots that prevent them from being broken up. The study doesn’t explain how the micro-clots eventually end up causing the wide range of health problems associated with long haul COVID. It does show that the disease creates lasting changes in the body.

My point is that there are good reasons why the world’s medical community is so concerned about this disease. It’s plain stupid to minimize the importance of this pandemic. Hospitals across the US are cancelling elective surgeries because they don’t have staff to provide care because of omicron. I’m grateful that Mrs. Lion and I are vaccinated (and boosted). We aren’t stupid enough to believe we are safe from infection.

I consider it irresponsible for anyone to argue against any preventative measures that you and I can take. I hate wearing an N-95 mask, It’s hot and uncomfortable. I want to go to the casino and play the slots. I hated to sell our tickets to “My Fair Lady” on New Year’s Eve. Mrs. Lion is sorry to miss her old boss’ retirement dinner. I worry when I hear that a friend actively avoids precautions. I don’t have enough to afford to lose even one.

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In: COVID-19, health, Mrs Lion Comments
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Lion and I managed to get the COVID-19 vaccinations. We’re lucky we did because now the vaccine is in even shorter supply. We heard that the side effects after the second shot were worse than after the first. So far, we only feel a little achy and tired. I don’t think either of us has a fever, although I’ve been a little colder than normal. I guess we lucked out.

We were going to Costco today after I’m done with work, but I’m not sure we’ll make it. I think we might just hunker down and snuggle in bed. I’ve got homemade chicken soup defrosting for dinner. Lion says chicken soup is a cure-all. I just think it’s something to eat that I don’t have to put a lot of effort into. I’m sure the snuggling will be a  better cure for me.

Lion talked to his doctor about his inability to orgasm. IThe first step is blood tests, so as soon as we can make the trip to Costco we’ll stop for his blood tests. I guess it’s not likely there will be an easy answer. I’m still hoping he can just take a prescription and every thing will be hunky dory. My fingers are crossed. I don’t miss sex because I don’t want it. If I wanted it but couldn’t have it, I think it would drive me crazy. I think the same is true of Lion.

HThat said, there’s no way I’m giving up until I have concrete proof there’s nothing we can do about it. Aside from tonight, if we both still feel yucky, we’ll go back to trying for an orgasm every night. No, not an orgasm every night. I don’t want to scare Lion. We’ll try every night for an orgasm. Once I get one out of him, I hope things will return to normal. Then I can take one whenever I want.

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In: COVID-19, Mrs Lion Comments, Orgasm denial
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Despite the fact that I’m working, I’m having trouble keeping track of what day it is. I keep thinking it’s Thursday. For days I’ve thought it was Thursday. I have no idea what’s special about that day that makes me want to hurry it along, but it still isn’t Thursday. I can’t imagine how Lion keeps the days straight. I do know that the longer his furlough drags on, the more he worries about his job and how we’ll pay for things. I also think he’s upset about his birthday. There’s nothing like a birthday to stir up feelings of mortality.

Between having an orgasm Sunday night and worrying about things, he didn’t want to do anything last night. I’m not sure what I can do to help except be there for him. Telling him to snap out of it is ridiculous. When you’re in a funk, there’s no snapping out of it. Ironically, I do tend to snap out of it eventually. By that, I mean I don’t gradually feel better. It seems to happen suddenly. When I had my recent whatever-the-hell-it-was, I felt rotten all day, up to and including the time I left work. I ran an errand on the way home and by the time I walked in the door I was fine. But that’s me. And I’m weird. All I can do for Lion is to keep things as even-keeled as possible and help him through.

Several months ago, I suggested that Lion’s wait time shouldn’t officially start until he was horny again. Since he’s not ready for action the day after an orgasm, should that really count? At times, he doesn’t feel horny for a few days. When I suggested not counting those days, Lion said they should count. Recently, however, he seems to be saying they shouldn’t count.

The problem, of course, is that it’s difficult to know when the clock should start. Does it start when I can edge him? Does it start when he feels horny? We haven’t been able to answer those questions. I guess that means we’re stuck with our current method. Not that there’s anything wrong with it. As long as we both realize it might not be the most accurate system in the world, we should be fine. When Lion sighs and says he’s waited X days, he needs to understand that the real number is actually less. I think that’s made it easier for me to make him wait. It may have been 21 days since his last orgasm, but he didn’t really start feeling it until the fourth day, so it’s really a seventeen-day wait. It’s funny how the mind can justify things.