Tiptoeing into preseason

Cross country student-athletes arrived in the McCann Center lobby to get their room keys. Off-campus athletes came to help the freshmen navigate their way around campus. Fist bumps, hand-shakes, high-fives … oh, come on already, even some hugs too. Finally, some hugs. It’s been a long, slow slog, but two years after our previous cross country preseason, we tentatively dip our toes back into the waters of normalcy. While wearing a mask. While knowing this Delta variant lurks, all over the country and here in Dutchess County, and right here in our home. Our youngest son? Already had Covid back in February, fully vaccinated since early June. Sore throat wakes him up a few nights ago, keeping him up. Chills. Headache. Runny nose. Uh-oh. Here we go, off to the doctor’s office. Strep test = negative. Covid test … what, THIS again? Finally, we get word, after two days of nervous waiting: He’s negative. Phew. He’s not some miraculous double-breakthrough case. For now, at least. Masks, contact tracing, rapid tests, PCR tests, it’s all still part of our vernacular. This shit’s far from over.

But on Wednesday, we prepared to start our preseason. We handed out keys. We handed out gear. We had meetings. There was a snafu about our being at dinner in the dining hall – an honest mistake and miscommunication. Stuff that would have annoyed us in the past, it makes us smile now. Lots of smiles – behind the masks inside, for the world to see outside. We’ll be loading into vans and cars Thursday morning for practice, wearing masks. Because that’s what we must do. But we will run, free and easy, not breathing through masks and gaiters, until we’re back in the vans and back inside, when the face coverings return.

Tiptoeing into preseason and hopefully a racing season with few if any hiccups. It’s not perfect, and we’re constantly looking over our shoulder for variants and breakthroughs and pauses and all the other jargon of 2020-2021, and you know what? It beats being stuck at home, walking the dogs.