My unglamourous post-work strip-down

Before COVID, when I drove into the garage after a day at work I would have about half a minute before my boys would come bursting through the door in a race to see who could hug me first as I opened my car door. Of course this was actually more about beating their brother to get to me first than any real affection for me, but if I'd had a bad day I could pretend that this wasn't the case and that they were actually focused on hugging me. Now things are different. When I get home from work I drive into the garage to silence because my children know that they aren't allowed to touch either me or Malcolm until we have decontaminated ourselves. This decontamination process is quite a rigmarole and I'm sure that one day in the very distant future, once this is over, I'll laugh about it, but for now it's a hack. When I arrive home from work, after a hug from my children and husband, I want one of two things: tea or alcohol (depending on how bad my day has been and what time I get home from work). Then I want something to eat because the chances are high that I haven't eaten for most of the day. Now my beeline for the kettle and fridge contains some detours. Before getting out of the car, I rub my hands with the hand sanitiser next to my seat (again). Then I spray my cellphone down with an alcohol spray I keep in my car for this purpose. My handbag, wallet and mask stay in my car permanently so that they don't carry corona virus into the house. I get out of the car and remove my shoes, which now live in the garage. I then strip down to my underwear in the garage, turn my clothes inside out in order to carry them in without covering my hands in virus, and walk through the house to deposit my clothes directly into the washing machine (which I only turn on after showering). I didn't say this was pretty. It's straight from the washing machine upstairs to the shower for me, where I scrub myself off with soap and brush my teeth. Then, finally, I can hug my children and turn on the kettle. As I mentioned, one day I may laugh about this.