I feel like I have gone through the whole grief cycle in the last year. First “it’ll never come over here” and “it won’t last”. Then great and anxiety about food supply chains and wishing desperately that we had room in our tiny house for a chest freezer. Then “what the hell people, wear your damn masks or we’ll all be trapped in our homes forever!” Many, many weeks of depression and palpable anxiety. And finally, in just the last week or two, something approaching acceptance. I’ve figured out a system that works for me while [my husband] is deployed, and hopefully will work for him when he gets back and we have to share the space again. E. has a good routine and social life with daycare and our daycare family bubble. I can bake amazing challah and pizza dough after making them both nearly every week for more than 50 weeks now. More and more people around me are getting vaccinated. Maybe soon I can be vaccinated. There is still a cynical voice in the back waiting to be let down or disappointed, but in general the optimist is winning.
March 21, 2021
For the past several weeks, I have been volunteering at the mass vaccination clinic at UNM's The Pit, a basketball stadium. The first week, I was a "greeter". I got a red and silver pompom and directed folks down a hallway to their vaccination stations. The second shift, I was a "runner" and made sure all the stations had supplies. Last time, I was a "scribe", and helped check folks in prior to their shots. Not gonna lie, I volunteered hoping there would be extra vaccinations at the end of the day. But the clinic was too efficient and there were no leftovers. I was really touched to see so many seniors coming to get vaccinated, and how much care their family members took to make sure they got their shots.
April 6, 2021