Vaccine Resolutions
My husband and I scoredvaccination appointments early in the New Year. I had thought we might have to wait until thespring before they were available. Wemanaged to navigate Orange County’s website and book first and secondappointments. It did not matter we were unable to get simultaneousappointments; it did not matter the line to get the vaccine serpentined aroundthe convention center; it did not matter we waited in our car for two hours. Iwould gratefully have waited in my car all day and night to be able to be vaccinated,as has been the case for too many people I’m seeing on the news.
I’ve started imaginingwhat I might be able to do post-vaccination. Of course a mask will remainmandatory. I’m not assuming 70 to 90 percent of our strong willed country willagree to be vaccinated so I’m not hopeful of herd immunity being achieved anytime soon. But aside from that I so lookforward to re-establishing human connections. While I appreciate my canine connection, I miss being in proximity withmy peeps. I’m often turned off by people who describe themselves as “huggers”. Typically those are the peripheral people inmy life who broach my boundaries bestowing those awkward pecks andchest-to-chest embraces. But I mustadmit, that description aptly describes me (hopefully not the awkward smoochesand squeezes part.) I love huggingpeople I care about.
As part of craving connections I’m so looking forward to the social aspects of dining out.
While we have managed outside eating, I’ve been afraid of dining inside a restaurant. And even though we live in Florida, dining outside subjects us to the elements. And some favorite haunts have quite limited outdoor seating. I’m tired of cooking and cleaning the kitchen. Even though there are only two of us we must run the dishwasher once a day.
I want to travel to see my kids. One visit in ten months simply doesn’t suffice. That has been a constant refrain from friends since the onset of the pandemic. “I miss my kids and grandchildren”. As I’ve wailed repeatedly, three of our kids and two grandchildren live away. We actually managed to visit southern and northern Illinois in two different visits. The first was by car; the second by plane. I posted this pic of the precautions we took to fly, not to mention the pre and post Covid tests.
So, once that second vaccine is in my arm I will jubilantly make multiple travel plans.
We cancelled plans totravel to Spain for our 30th wedding anniversary this spring. I remember myhesitation to cancel. “Oh I’m sure this will blow over,” I speculated to myhusband. Spain had been spared the initial wave of the virus, unlike Italy andFrance. We were afraid the United States would close its borders, which ofcourse it did. I seriously doubt we will be traveling internationally any timesoon. I think we can’t underestimate the PTSD we will experience. I’ve become pretty attached to my home baseand am not sure I want to move too far afield.
By no means has thepandemic been our friend, but there have been some pandemic pluses, including:(1) not having to apply make-up. I haven’t had mascara on since March. Isuspect my eyes are enjoying the absence of those pigments and preservatives.Who needs blush or lipstick when our faces are covered? (2) I haven’t missedwearing a bra. Now, mind you I do put one on when I leave the house but therehas been little danger of unexpected drop-ins so I’ve been enjoying my bra-freeenvirons. (3) The absence of hard and fast schedules. As Peter Beagle of theLast Unicorn eloquently wrote:
“When I was alive, I believed as you do--that time was at least as real and solid as myself, and probably more so. I said 1:00 as though I could see it, and “Monday” as though I could find it on a map. Like everyone else, I lived in a house bricked up with seconds and minutes, weekends and New Year’s Days, and I never went outside until I died, because there was no other door. Now I know that I could have walked through walls.”
Is it possible the pandemic demanded we walkthrough a few walls? The jury may stillbe out on that question but I know it has caused me to re-evaluate my timepriorities. The relaxing of time constraints has been as freeing as my bra-freehome zone.
The Vaccine God’s smiled on us last Thursday. My husband accompanied me to my appointment and was able to get his shot at the same time. We were euphoric.
The morning following our vaccinations my husband told me he felt happy. “I don’t think I realized what a cloud this virus has been holding over my head. I guess I had been down.” Suddenly I felt like my post vaccine priorities enumerated above were frivolous. Keeping our health and those of others in good stead is what’s most important. Avoiding death and long-term virus after-affects is what counts. Dining inside a restaurant and plane travel pale compared with safe keeping for friends and family.
The pandemic’s pandemonium is far from over buthope is peeking out like daffodils sprouting from their underground bunkers.But don’t be in a hurry to wall up those extra doors we created during thesepast few months. They might just come inhandy.