Reflections on the Day of My Second Shot

Today’s my day for a second vaccination shot. It feels like I am in line for a school hall pass, or about to take a break from a long siege. It remains to be seen how ‘free’ I can be in the world or how open the world will be, but I am eager to find out.

I am older and I’m noticing that among my age mates there is more talk of sadness now around the lost year. I suspect it is because as we age we realize how precious time is. Our horizons are shorter and in some cases we’ve lost people and even the ability to gather to mourn them. And because many of us are getting vaccinated we can at last take a breather from all the ‘bucking up’ we’ve done all year to say, this was hard!

Still, I’d like to think that all the ‘bounce’ and resilience we have shown one another during this time will somehow benefit those who come behind us. We are getting through this, living lives as health-i-ly as we can, and staying in touch in new ways. It remains to be seen how the pandemic year will impact each of us over the long haul.