Frustrating, but for the best

I ended up being able to come in for most of today. My test results were emailed to me by 8:30am, and I was down at work an hour later. I was relieved that colleagues did not have to cover for me, but frustrated that I spent three hours of my Sunday driving to work, and in my classroom, getting ready for coverage that I ultimately did not need (except for 1st period).

I guess I should have expected the Kaiser result to be back by early Monday morning, but I wasn’t sure if getting the test on a Saturday would push out the results. My kids usually end up going before noon on a weekday, and then I’ll get their results much later the next day, in the evening, so in the 24-36 hour range. I wasn’t sure if a Saturday afternoon (3:30pm) would push things back a little, which I guess they technically did. Moving forward I will know I can expect a Saturday test to be back relatively early on Monday (but it’s always stressful because they say to expect the results in 24-72 hours and I know people who have had to wait the 72 hours).

But honestly, it’s hard to plan for a sub when you aren’t in your classroom. Especially if they can’t just put on a movie, which is impossible in my room because I still don’t have a TV and getting my old school projector set up to show a movie is a little complicated. If my %$^&#@ TV were here (like it was supposed to be a month ago) I wouldn’t have had to come down. So yeah, I’m frustrated, but I’m glad it ended up like it did.

I do wish there were an expedited testing service for health care workers, teachers and others who need a negative test to return to work. Feeling confident that a test result would come back in 24 hours would be a game changer.

I will say that as someone who lives in one county and works in another, I’m continually confused by what testing sites are available to me. Getting tested in the city seems to be the easiest because I’m a resident of San Francisco and it’s easy to show that with my ID. It’s hard to prove that I work in San Mateo County (I need a printed recent pay stub) and even then, I’m not sure what county-wide sites would take me. My own district offers some limited testing, but only during certain hours during the school week. Living in SF but working in SMC definitely caused some (in the long run minor) delays in getting vaccinated. I guess it’s not surprising that it’s complicated testing too.

So today I’m at school (only 10 minutes left!) I kept the low-key sub plans so that today was pretty easier for me. I still don’t feel 100%, but I’m glad I’m not stuck at home on a technicality, when I feel well enough to be at school. Hopefully my own kids don’t get sick too, which would cause a lot more problems moving forward.