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A diary

 I love diaries! I never know what I may write in them, but I always enjoy getting one. This year, long before Covid took over our lives, I was handed a beautiful big diary. I flipped through its pages like an excited child, wondering what I would fill it up with.

"Maybe your recipe book needs an upgrade", suggested one of the boys.

"Write your book", suggested another.

I merely ran my hands over it, and kept it aside. Some day I would use it for something important. 

That beautiful diary is now being used on a daily basis. It began with me listing down all our medicines. The children have their cough syrups, antibiotics, zinc and vitamin C, in different proportions, at different times. I had a different set of medicines. So I began writing it in my diary.

Then I began keeping a record of our oxygen saturation levels, pulse readings and temperatures. I did this 4 or 5 times a day. I wrote the date on top, the times when it was taken, and each of our readings. So when the nurse called, she was suitably impressed by how organized I was. She would jot down our numbers, remind us to be careful, and ask if we had any other symptoms. 

I also had pages of instructions by the nutrition expert. "High Protein diet", I wrote and underlined. 

"12 cups of fluids"

"Two different kinds of fruits a day."

The book that was possibly going to hold my memoirs, is now refered to as the "Corona book". I still run my fingers over its pages. While it may not be the next best seller, it has a record of our improving health. The oxygen levels are getting better, and the coughs aren't as frequent. It's become the diary of hope (for a future not so far away, when we will all be well) and strength (after having faced my greatest fear, maybe I am stronger now). Either way, this is a diary I am going to keep forever, to remind of a time when a hopeless situation opened my eyes to so much goodness and kindness in the world. ❤️

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