Bar Mitzvah and Covid

My son tested positive for covid a week and a half before his bar mitzvah. One of his younger sisters tested positive the next day. I tested positive 2 days later.

The following week, my husband tested positive - just 6 days before the bar mitzvah.

In retrospect - maybe we should have been more careful... Maybe we shouldn't have let my son go to a sleepover... or participate in orchestra recitals... or maybe we should have kept all kids home from school for 2 weeks before the event. Realistically, though - we can't (and do not want to) live in a bubble. We do our best to be careful: we vaccinate, we avoid crowded events, and we wear masks even when we are not required to, but that's pretty much it.

It was a small Bar Mitzvah. We were able to have it at the synagogue because most of us cleared the required quarantine. Our youngest tested negative. My husband joined on zoom (and was able to participate - thanks to the miracles of modern technology). Some of the family joined on zoom and some family and friends were able to come and be there with us in person. We all wore masks. We had food outside after the services. Our son was fantastic, reading from the Torah and leading the prayers. It's all kind of a blur. I often get teary-eyed at other people's bnai mitzvahs, but I had no desire to cry at our son's... Our son said it all went by so fast and he wouldn't mind to repeat the whole experience one more time. He seemed so grown-up, standing there on the Bimah, his voice strong, looking so confident and calm.

We rescheduled the outdoor party (small, just family and close friends) to this Saturday. Because it didn't seem like a good idea to have it (even outside) while my husband wasn't feeling great. 

And then this morning - our youngest seemed a bit stuffy, and we tested her, and her test was bright-positive for covid.

We are trying to figure out what to do. We can't really reschedule the party again - just because of logistics and plans for the upcoming weekends. We either have to cancel it, or go with it and have the 8-year old separate and far away from everyone else. It is doable - we have a big yard, and she seems open to the idea of  sitting separately from everyone else and then staying inside and watching a movie on her own. We are talking to the grandparents and other family members to get an idea of comfort levels and acceptable risks...

Let's just hope we don't come down with monkey pox... (what with our recent luck...)

Oh, speaking of infectious disease - our middle child got bitten by a chipmunk. (She was trying to rescue the thing from our cat). She is now extremely worried that she would get rabies or plague or something equally horrible. It's been 5 days - the wound is healing nicely. She spent quite a bit of time on google researching rabies and plague, and she has talked extensively to every relative and friend in medical-related profession about her chances of survival.

Seriously! Chipmunk!