What a shot in the arm

Though I was expecting a physical reaction to getting my first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine, I was a tad surprised at the emotional response it triggered.

My husband had already received his first and second shots. So when it came time for my appointment, I knew what to expect. 

John has always been a bit of a wimp when it comes to needles. 

I'll never forget the first time we took our babies for their first shots. He was a nervous wreck and almost passed out. 

Apparently times have changed. At the tender age of 72, he has been stuck so many times that he now takes it in stride. I think the needles might be smaller as well. I admit I was the one who was apprehensive about his reaction; except there was none! He was a trouper both times and claims he didn't even feel the shot. Even afterward, he felt no pain whatsoever.

When it finally came around to my turn to get the shot, I wondered if I would have the same reaction he did.

The shot itself was as they say, "just a pinch." 

Immediately afterward though, as I took my seat to wait out the obligatory 15 minutes before going home, I looked around to see the huge room at the fairgrounds comfortably filled with people, all wearing masks and sitting safely distanced from one another. Medical personnel seemed to be everywhere and available on a moment’s notice.

Instead of pain, I was feeling relief as well as a sense of pride to have taken this step, both for my own personal health and as my civic responsibility. After a moment or two, I pulled out my phone and posted something to that effect on Facebook.

As a home body by nature, I haven’t been as bothered by the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 as much as some. Yes, it is a pain to wear a mask, but it is so much better to know that we are all in this together. Wearing a mask is really not a big deal. And being told to stay home didn’t bother me either. In fact, being told to stay home is a running joke at our house. It ranks right up there with someone mandating that we take a nap in the middle of the day. My, how time changes how we look at things.

John and I are both retired. Some, well just about anyone who knows us, would call us reclusive. We led very busy lives once, but these days, like to keep to ourselves. Since John no longer drives, I do all the errands. I have not been in a grocery store since last March. We have groceries delivered or I use the pickup service at Walmart. I cannot say how grateful I am for these services, especially during this pandemic. This as well as other forms of online shopping have been a godsend.

When my wait was over and I got in my car to go home I thought about the last year and all the people that have been touched by this pandemic. I felt akin to people everywhere, people all across the globe that are experiencing the same thing I am. We are all getting our vaccines to the benefit of ourselves and everyone. Tears welled up in my eyes. So many people have died. So many families have had to say goodbye to loved ones and dear friends. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been touched by the story of someone lost.

That was overwhelming enough, but then I thought about the last four years and how it seemed every day there was something a new crisis to worry about. I can’t help but wonder if we had a competent leader, how different things would have been.

Getting this shot seemed to bring all of the things I was feelings into focus. I felt relief. For the past year, it was impossible to know where the Corona Virus was lingering. Even people who were careful ended up in the hospital. I am elated to no longer have that worry though I recognize the emergency is not over.

Additionally, we now have competent government leadership that works for the American people rather than one that might get us all killed because of one man’s incompetency. If it wasn’t for President Joe Biden and the capable people he has put in place, I have no doubt I would not have gotten this lifesaving vaccine.

In more ways than one, this is “a shot in the arm,” that makes me feel lucky.  

That idiom, “a shot in the arm,” according to the Cambridge dictionary, is defined “as something that has a sudden and positive effect on something, providing encouragement and new activity.”

It is certainly time for that. And by the way, the day after, it only hurt a little. I hope everyone gets their "shot in the arm." We all need it.

Sometimes musing is just too exhausting

It has been two months since my last post, the last time I mused about anything worthwhile. The truth of the matter is that despite my love of writing and desire to communicate, I’ve had little desire or energy to write a single word. Even my daily journal now contains way too many empty pages. I feel that all inspiration and other feelings worth sharing have been completely sucked out of my body in the last year.

I know I’m not alone.

The last year—2020--will go down in the record books. It wasn’t just the Corona Virus Pandemic and horrific death tolls that have taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of good people in this country, but for me, the worst part was the Donald Trump Presidency. At the very least, its culmination with the November election, has not only contributed to those dead Americans, but has wrought violence and insecurity brought about by this thoughtless, careless, self-absorbed individual.

As far as the pandemic is concerned, my heart breaks for the countless families that have suffered or been lost to this horror. I’m personally grateful to have escaped it, though I made the decision to protect myself, to wear a mask when around other people and to stay home when possible.

The effect on my personal life has been minimal. I am a home body by nature. There is always something to do in and around the house. I find little need to seek out entertainment, rarely go out to dinner, travel, or feel like imposing myself on others for long periods of time. So, when told to stay home unless it is absolutely necessary to go out, I was OK with that. I know I am fortunate to not have to venture out into an infected environment.

Politics is another story however. I’ve spent some time during my life engaged in political activities, mostly from an activist perspective, but also as a journalist. I enjoyed political banter and liked writing about it. I’ve kept the habit even after retiring from writing for a living. I follow national politics with the same zeal as I did as a journalist. I feel that knowing what decisions are being made to control my life is not only good to know, it is must. Staying informed is not just a hobby; it is an obligation to being a responsible citizen.

I admit I’m grateful for not having had to write about all that has gone on in the last year—well the last four years—actually. Conversely, I’m angry at myself for not having written about it. There has been so much to say and I haven’t said it. In hindsight, I believe that was a mistake. Communicating truth is always important and necessary, especially in the atmosphere for which we have been living. I didn’t do my part. I regret that.

Personally, I was opposed to electing Trump in the first place. I never bought the notion that we needed a businessman in the Oval Office. First of all, there is a huge difference between business and government. Business is a profit motive endeavor while government is not. It is a representative management of the people’s business and any money involved belongs to and originates from the public. Decisions being made are supposed to be for the good of the public.

That would apply to any business person, but especially this one, whose business prowess was suspect from the start. Never, did I have any use for this self-aggrandizing man/child. His lack of character was evident to me way back when he first appeared in the public eye decades ago. Clearly, he was not anyone I would have ever guessed would end up in the highest office in the land. When he did, I believe he bungled every decision he ever made, because his motive was clearly laser-focused on himself and his own interests. He exploited the office for himself at the expense of millions of Americans.

His sole interest in the public was the small number he could prey upon, the vulnerable he could con. He co-opted the Evangelical right which was already filled with “believers” anxious to follow anyone, real or imaginary, that they could call their leader.

Trump’s final act, the one that finally crossed the line, actually began shortly after he claimed the office of the Presidency, to gin up support for himself at everyone else’s expense. His typical practice merely escalated to the point of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that resulted in five dead and many more injured. The potential, which was noticed all too clearly by lawmakers, could have been far worse.

Trump began his ‘rallies’ shortly after he took office as a means of his own public verbal masturbation and ended up engaging millions who were happy to please him. His aim was to discredit anyone who disagreed with him, including political opponents and reporters who asked questions he deemed unfavorable.

I could go on and on about why Trump’s holding the office of the Presidency was annoying to me personally and dangerous to this country, but suffice it to say that I am just grateful he has been stripped of the power of the office and any ‘leadership’ status. The country is better off for it.

Now, I await the Covid-19 vaccine. Won’t it be nice to know that breathing someone else’s air will not kill us?