Thank God My Husband Still Loves Me During Quarantine.

So, here is the deal. I was a germaphobe before being a germaphobe was cool. Let me give you background so you can understand what EXACTLY he is up against.

First and foremost, I come from a long line of worriers — thanks, Mom.

When I was pregnant for my first babe in 2015 and it was recommended that we all get the Tdap vaccine, we found out that one of our family members is allergic to the tetanus vaccine and thus, cannot receive the Tdap.

So essentially, every time we passed our brand new baby around, I felt like I was just allowing him to get sick.

Call it postpartum anxiety. Call it generalized anxiety. You do you, boo. I am just telling you the facts.

Fast forward to 2018. I was pregnant with my rainbow baby after a hella storm to get to that point. I landed myself on bed rest due to my incompetent cervix. I know. Y’all are sick of hearing about it.

I was afraid that if I got sick at all, it would put a strain on my already weak and shortening cervix.

We isolated ourselves as much as we could and washed and sanitized our hands like it was our job.

We made it through, but then we had a newborn again. Which brings me back to 2015 and how I felt like I was watching my brand new baby get sick each time someone held him.

If you know us then you already know all of this. Because even our nearest and dearest have seen our rainbow baby more than they have touched him.

I am who I am.

I have been stocking up on hand sanitizer and Clorox Wipes. I have been wiping down our shopping carts. We already do not bring the mail in the house and open packages outside if possible.

We already are really careful during cold and flu season — for the protection of ourselves and those around us.

We already practiced social distancing to a degree.

That brings me to Quarantine.

If you have gotten this far, then you can imagine how FREAKED I was when they even talked about a Pandemic back in January. You KNOW that I ordered extra goods from Amazon far before we were all scrambling.

But my precious husband has held my hand through it all.

He held my hand in 2015 as I navigated learning to protect my family as a brand new mama.

He supported me as we distanced ourselves during my rainbow pregnancy.

He held my hand again as we ramped up our sanitizing practices when we had a newborn again.

And when Covid19 arrived, he already knew what to do.

He knew I was going to wig out. He washes his hands and our boys’ hands without me having to say it. He reminds me to order groceries or to find something online instead of going into a store. He helps me sanitize anything and everything that comes into our house. He helps me keep the distance.

He has protected me from the germs and the anxieties that accompany the germs and has never once rolled his eyes. Really y’all. He hasn’t.

I am as grateful for him during Quarantine as I am sorry that he is stuck with me for Quarantine.

Rebecca Autin
Rebecca is an attorney by day and a toddler wrangler by night. She is a product of divorced parents and grew up in both Thibodaux and Franklin, Louisiana. Rebecca attended Loyola University of New Orleans and Southern University Law Center. Rebecca married her high school bestie in 2012. Quinton and Rebecca went through months of infertility before giving birth to Maxwell Lincoln in 2015. In 2016, they were surprised by a baby boy due in June 2017. But, in February 2017, they suffered with incompetent cervix and delivered sweet Theodore Paul too soon. In October 2018, after an incredibly difficult pregnancy, a cerclage, and a whole bunch of bedrest, Fitzgerald Joseph was born -- a happy, healthy, and perfect rainbow. If you can't find Rebecca, you can summon her with pot of freshly brewed coffee or look for her in Target or behind the kitchen island where she is hiding from her kids with a very generous pour of red.