Holy Week 2026: What Just Happened?

Our Holy Week 2026 was hardly what we expected. Around lunchtime on Monday, I got a call that John had a fever and needed to be picked up from daycare. He’d had a slightly elevated temp the week before, but it resolved in a day. The return of the temp convinced me it was an ear infection, but we couldn’t get an appointment until Tuesday. Now, Tuesday is normally the day I go into the office, meet with my supervisor, and get a handle on the week to come. As it was Holy Week, I knew there was a lot to the week to come. So, a midday trip to the pediatrician was already a wrench in the schedule.

On Tuesday morning John and I were running errands before going to the pediatrician when I got a message from daycare saying Jimmy wasn’t acting like himself, but he didn’t have a fever. Fifteen minutes later I got a message that his temperature was at 101°F. Detour time! I swung by daycare and picked him up on the way to the pediatrician. Poor dude was lethargic and burning up. When the doctor walked in, she assumed we were at the appointment for him, not for John. She looked at John’s ears, confirmed a double ear infection, and then asked, “Since you’re here, do you want me to look over Jimmy?” That was truly a blessing! Now, we know ear infections aren’t contagious, but lots of things that cause them can be. I explained to the doctor that there were confirmed cases of strep, influenza, and COVID at daycare in the past week. She guessed that since John didn’t have significant symptoms the week before and because his throat looked normal, it was unlikely he had influenza or COVID. And if he did have strep, the antibiotics for the double ear infection would cover that too. We agreed to skip the swabs because test results wouldn’t change his course of treatment. Jimmy’s ears checked out beautifully, but she said with his exposure to everything, she’d recommend getting him swabbed. I agreed, and Jimmy got two nasal swabs and a throat swab and did so well! Ten minutes later she returned to tell us he tested positive for Influenza A. I texted James the news and let him know Jimmy was saying he was “soooo tired and cold,” to which James said, “Similar to me, TBH.”

insert panicked pastor mom here.

The day continued relatively normally as we got home for nap and just did lots of cuddles and water. John was able to start his antibiotics for the ear infection, and he was on the road to healing! Jimmy was feeling crummy but felt better after a bit of Tylenol and “flavor water.” In the chaos of everything I texted my supervisor to let her know what was happening with my family. After some conversation, the decision was reached that I would be sidelined for the week—staying completely home and out of the church to prevent possibly carrying influenza in. This was a tough decision, but ultimately made to keep people healthy and safe. However, because I was going to be out of the church for the week, it meant I had some work to do from home—securing and confirming various volunteer roles for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday.

Wednesday came with little fanfare. Both boys were still home from daycare because Jimmy was still having fevers and John wasn’t quite back to himself yet. James was trying to continue to work, but his symptoms were catching up to him. Finally, I made the call that he needed to take a test, so we knew what we were working with. Given Jimmy’s Flu A status, I assumed that’s what James had. Color me surprised to find out he tested positive for Flu B! Now, I felt totally fine but also took a test and came back all negatives (RSV, COVID, and Flu A & B). Relief! But this meant I was now the primary caretaker of two different viruses. The future felt bleak. However, the day continued as normal. I worked with my supervisor and admin on filling roles. James and the boys watched monster trucks and played in the playroom.

Hooray, we made it to Thursday! John was able to return to daycare and got to participate in an Easter egg hunt with friends. Jimmy had a fever again in the morning, so we did lots of cuddles and I continued my arranging of volunteer positions for the upcoming services. Unfortunately, James was becoming more symptomatic—body aches, chills, headaches, sore throat, etc. On Thursday night I had a moment of feeling like it was hard to breathe. However, that’s not abnormal for me in the spring sometimes given the weather and my asthma. To be safe I took another home test and came out with negatives across the board.

Friday arrived and James was in rough shape with fatigue and body pain. We decided to leave him home to rest while the boys and I went to my mom’s to dye Easter eggs! At this point Jimmy was 24 hours fever-free, John was back to normal, and other than feeling tired after rearranging schedules all week I felt physically fine and had a negative test from the night before. John decided throwing the eggs was more fun than decorating, so we let him color fake eggs. Jimmy loved using the “Egg Mazing” egg decorator and colored several eggs purple. Back home after decorating we got everyone down for nap. Another uneventful afternoon. Except my voice was becoming hoarse. Whelp. Before taking my own nap, I took another test. Fifteen minutes later I was face to face with only the control line. And believe me, after years of trying to get pregnant, I know how to spot a faint test line. I accepted the results and continued with life.

With the boys being back to normal, we assumed Saturday would be more of the same. We were wrong. It was chaos. At this point it had been a week since we had a “normal” day as a family. And the family was feeling it. Unfortunately, lots of our go-to ideas for blowing off this kind of steam were out of the question because James was still experiencing all the same symptoms with little improvement. So we muscled through as best we knew how. Once the boys (including James) were all down for nap, I ran to pick up an Easter gift and get myself a takeout lunch. At this point I was still feeling like I did on Friday morning, mentally exhausted but physically ready to run around and get things done! Because I felt so good, I figured I’d skip the test. The day carried on, and by bedtime I had a bit of a headache. But I figured by this point it was a given, so I popped two Tylenol and went to bed.

Finally, Sunday! Resurrection Day! I woke up with a splitting headache and my nose running like a faucet. Things were not looking good. But the show must go on. I got the Easter baskets out to the front porch and placed scavenger hunt clues while James did dishes and Jimmy was oblivious to the neon notecards popping up around the house. When Jimmy got to the final clue, he opened the front door and said, “My new bike is outside!” I asked how he knew it was his bike, and he said, “Because it’s at our house!” Okay, fair enough, kiddo. He was so excited for his new bike that we braved the freezing weather to play outside before John got too cold. I felt okay, so I told James I would feel more comfortable with him staying home while I took the boys to my mom’s in the afternoon. As much as James wanted to bounce back like Jimmy, it was not happening. Once we were inside and waiting out lunch and nap time, I realized that I was feeling crummy with a capital C. I told James, “You know, I really think I should take another test. This headache and runny nose aren’t letting up and I don’t want to get more people sick.” For the fourth time this week I swabbed my nostrils, swirled a tube, placed drops on a test cassette, and set a 15-minute timer. Again, I’m a pro at taking all sorts of tests at home. I know you don’t look at the test during the processing time. But it was sitting on the counter, and as I reached over it for a plate for lunch I saw a blazing positive line only three minutes into the timer. Uh oh. I really thought I was going to get another negative. I mean, how can you go so many days being exposed, with symptoms coming and going, and getting negative tests? At 15 minutes I looked again and sure as can be, positive for Flu B. Now, you might think I was upset (I was a little). But mostly I was relieved. Because that decision earlier in the week to sideline me from Holy Week protected hundreds of people from being exposed to influenza. We managed to make it through the rest of Sunday with naps for everyone. And after nap we even took a family walk so Jimmy could take his new bike out for a real ride!

So now, here I am, reflecting on everything that happened this week but also in this season of Lent. I started Lent by preaching and proclaiming that Jesus calls us into a relationship with God that is so real, so alive, that we begin to do everything as if it is for God’s eyes alone. And I reflect on that as I feel guilt for having not attended a service this week—certainly not in person, but also not online. “What will people think of me when they find out I didn’t even watch a service online? They’ll think I’m a fraud!” But that doesn’t mean that what I was doing wasn’t out of devotion to God. I tended my flock, both personal and professional. I prayed unceasingly. And I remembered that those ashes placed on my forehead six weeks ago are a constant reminder that our beginning from dust is an invitation to begin again, over and over, as often as we need. Because dust in the hands of God is the beginning of creation, of a story. We are dust, and we are in God’s hands.

And now the clock has ticked past midnight and we have moved from Resurrection Day into the season of Easter! And while this isn’t what I had in mind—I mean, who thinks they’re going to miss Holy Week of their pastoral internship because of the flu?!—it feels perfectly fitting. For the next 50 days, until Pentecost, we will celebrate the season of Easter. This is a time to rejoice in our Christian faith and reflect on what it means to have new life. In some Christian traditions, this has been a time called “mystagogy,” or a time for newly baptized individuals to be guided in understanding and participation of the mysteries of faith. And while we walk this season of Easter, exploring mysteries of our beliefs, I will also be preparing for the final steps before graduation from seminary and approval from the ELCA. I will be reminded, again and again, what it means to be Christian—why I went beyond hearing the call to professional ministry and chose to listen and to follow. In the coming months, I will be asked by professors, pastors, and lay leaders about my commitment to Christ, my acceptance and adherence to doctrines of faith, my ability to respond to and lead people in varying ministry contexts, my academic and personal qualifications and interests for and in ministry, my engagement in the way of the cross, and about my commitment to lead a life worthy of Christ’s gospel. And at the end of it all, I will graduate and complete my internship at Peace, in May and June respectively. That is certain. After that? It’s in God’s hands. And I will be prayerfully present to the Spirit while I await a call and ordination.

But today? Today Christ is Risen. Alleluia!