The Storm of 1978

If you talk to any Bostonian about the weather, especially snow, the storm of 1978 usually comes up. I love the Wikipedia page on it. It starts with “The Northeastern United States blizzard of 1978 was a catastrophic, historic nor’easter that struck New England, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the New York metropolitan area.” I’m not making light of the storm at all, it just clearly had an impact on so many people that almost 50 years later it’s still mentioned.

I feel like January 2022 will be my storm of 1978. There was a little sunshine, but boy was it a tough one. Little man has turned into a demon child. Okay, not really demon child because granny will get mad at me for writing that, but boy those terrible twos came out in full force over the last 5 weeks. Temper tantrums, throwing things, saying no all the time, not listening, not taking naps, taking 2 1/2 hours to go to bed….what happened to my sweet little cuddly boy?

I do think that part of it was that we hunkered down for the first three weeks of January in an attempt to ward off Omicron. We still went for walks, the playground, and he went to daycare, but we canceled his gym class and had little contact with others. And then…

Two weeks ago, because little man is wonderful at sharing, he decided to bring COVID home from daycare and share it with me. The two of us were locked up in our house with the dog for 12 days. 12 long long long long long long days! We were incredibly fortunate that after the first night, little man showed no symptoms at all. His fever broke and he was a little quieter the first few days (thank goodness!) and that was it. On his day 3, I tested positive. I had more symptoms but fortunately, I’m fully vaxxed and boostered so it was nothing a few days laying low couldn’t handle. (thank you, scientists!)

It’s now been 12 days and we’re both negative (thank goodness!) and he went back to daycare today (thank goodness!). He needs to be with his little friends, the dog needs some peace and quiet, and mama needs a break!

I said there was a little sunshine in January and there definitely was. Despite the boldness, little man is constantly saying “I love granny. I love uncle Brian. I love auntie Taya…” and the list goes on including “I love pasta.” He regularly tells me how good food is (a young foodie at heart) by saying “This is yummy!”.

He has become more cuddly (especially after he has done something bold) and will sit beside me and say “Mommy, hold hands.” He’s a big hand-holder now. Watch out ladies.

As you can probably gather, his language is crazy now and he talks all the time. I have quickly realized what I say to him because he repeats it back to me like, “two minutes,” “in a little bit,” “now!”, and “sit down and relax.” Although frustrating at times, it is rather funny to hear him say these things.

The best bit of sunshine that happened in January is that we had a court hearing and the judge said “the adoption will be done in less than 6 months!” I kind of want to jump up and down but also know that I need to be cautiously optimistic. Either way, we are moving forward and there does seem to be an end in sight.

I hope that you all stay healthy and that 2022 is full of awe, love, and laughter for you.