This has been a weird week. My Facebook and Instagram memories are reminding just how unsettling this week was last year. It was the last real week before the world shut down but it was also a week filled with uneasiness. Grocery stores were empty, you couldn't find cleaning products, and I was having my kids wash their hands so much. I remember having tickets to the ballet and really going back and forth about if I should go or not. I ended up going because I felt like it was my last chance to do something before things got worse. The whole time I was there I was nervous about being around so many people.
Monday was a bad day for us. School and work stress on top of other stress, including states saying they are just going to open everything up, was just all too much so we popped open a bottle of bubbles and "went to Palm Springs" for the night, courtesy of Modernism Week. (God, I miss Palm Springs.)
On Monday, I also got my 250 class badge from Open Fit! I am so proud of myself for committing these classes instead of spending even more time on the couch.
On Tuesday, President Biden intervened in the teacher vaccination debate and stated that teachers needed to be vaccinated. This allowed CVS to make teachers eligible for the vaccination on Wednesday since they are given their doses straight from the Federal Government and not the state.
So I woke up on Wednesday to lots of messages that CVS was now accepting teachers for appointments. Let me tell you, trying to get a vaccination appointment is like trying to win the lottery on purpose. The Governor later said that teachers would be eligible on 3/11 but I didn't think it was a good idea to wait for the state system. I woke up at 5:00am on Thursday and could barely read my computer screen through my blurry eyes. It was saying there were appointments but the CVS site was crashing. I tried for thirty minutes before falling back to sleep only to be woken up by Rainier around 6:20. He was hungry so he was hitting me on the head. I grabbed my computer and refreshed the screen. Guess what? I got an appointment. I was typing so fast and everything was blurry so I wasn't convinced it went through until I got the text message confirmation on my phone. I am so fortunate to have this appointment.
I spent the next few days working hard to get appointments for friends. I've become a bit of a vaccine wizard and I'm very happy to share my tips and tricks with others.
The last few days I've seen some of my teacher friends posting that they got their shots and the sense of relief is obvious and deserved. I am so happy for them. This week my dad also got his vaccination. He was so excited. You could hear the relief in his voice. He's been so strong through all of this but I know he's counting down to when we can "real hug" and so am I.
This weekend we celebrated my birthday by watching the ballet. I love these virtual experiences. They are not the same as going to the ballet but it is just so nice to have a moment with art and this one was much needed.
We also took some time to get out and walk around Boston on this sunny Sunday. We did a little walking tour of Beacon Hill. We talked about how crazy this summer is going to be. The city is going to be alive again. We ended the day with lunch outside at the Smoke Shop. The pandemic has certainly made us hardier. Look at us dining outside in 30 degree weather!
As we approach the one year mark I've been having lots of feelings like I'm sure a lot of us are having. For now I'm focusing on the gifts this last year has given me and thinking about how I can carry the lessons I've learned over to my future return to "normal." I guess I hope we don't return to the old normal. I hope this whole thing will lead to a "new normal" because "old normal" wasn't great. A teacher posted this this week and it really resonated with me.
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