By the time you read this, we will likely be on the other side of this particular situation. In the morning, we have someone coming to service our furnace. Something is very wrong with it and it needs to get done or we won’t have any heat.

Normally this wouldn’t be a big deal but since COVID, nothing is not a big deal anymore.

I reached out to some medical experts I know to figure out the safest approach to having this done. After chatting for a little bit, it was concluded that assuming they actually wear a mask like I was promised they would, and we stay as far away as we can, while wearing our own masks, the risk should be low.

The current plan is to have them use the side door which takes them straight to the basement. I will have a fan down there already, circulating the air. The first floor windows will all be open and we will all remain on the second floor.

I setup a camera with two way voice in the basement to help facilitate easy, realtime communication with the tech. I’ll also be able to make sure a mask is worn at all times.

The reality is that the company I’m using has always been above board and they are highly reputable. I do have confidence that they will honor their commitment to wear a mask.

The tech will need to manage the thermostat when testing the furnace. Unfortunately, that’s on the first floor and out of bounds for them. Thankfully, it’s a Nest thermostat, so I can control it remotely.

When the tech is done, I will bleach wipe everything they came into contact with, and let the air circulate for awhile.

That’s the smartest way we can get this done.

We could leave the house and drive around because I can remotely grant access to the house from anywhere, as well as communicate via the camera and manage the the thermostat. That said, it seems that the current approach is sufficient to keep everyone safe.

I know that I’m may be overreacting but my county is is in a level 4 state of emergency, the highest level possible. It’s literally as bad as it gets. I wouldn’t dream of letting anyone into our house but there’s no way to avoid this.

The struggle with this is that I’m relying on someone else to do the right thing and wear a mask, when so many people won’t. I’m letting someone into our house that’s been on lockdown for 280 days. I know for certain that COVID doesn’t exist in our home currently. Letting someone in introduces unknown variables and that makes me uneasy.

At the end of the day, odds are everything is going to be fine. I know that. Keeping my kids safe has been my utmost priority and this is the most vulnerable we’ve been throughout this whole pandemic. It makes me nervous because Gavin is such a high risk and currently our hospitals are completely over capacity.

Like I said, I know I’m probably overreacting to this whole thing but that’s okay because it’s kept us safe all year. Every family I know who has an immunocompromised member is exercising the same or similar level of extreme caution.

I’m seriously grateful that we’re able to get the furnace fixed in the first place. We’ll get through this move on with our regularly scheduled, COVID lockdown life. ☺