The leaves on the trees are budding out and flowers are
blooming. The weather is getting
warmer. Spring in in the air—and there
is hope. Although we are still in a
pandemic after more than a year, we are beginning to turn the corner. Millions of people have been vaccinated in
this country and more are being vaccinated each day. The number of new cases and the number of
deaths is dropping. We are moving in the
right direction.
My husband was vaccinated while I was in North
Carolina. I was lucky to be able to get
vaccinated while I was visiting there.
We both were fully vaccinated over a month ago. I thought we would rush out right away and
return to normal activities, but it hasn’t happened that way. It has been a gradual process.
My husband, the family grocery shopper, started to do in-person
grocery shopping soon after being vaccinated.
It is nice to be able to see what you are buying and to have more
choices. Next, we returned to the YMCA
for regular exercise. They have one-way
routes, masks required when not on machines, and some equipment blocked
off. Wow, I am out of shape. I was excited to return to the zoo as a
volunteer. It was great to be able to
walk into a store (masked) and be able to choose a birthday gift for my
mom. Just a couple of days ago we
decided it was time to step inside a restaurant. I was tired and I wanted to be served
dinner. We chose the closest restaurant
which was fairly empty. It was great to
eat out!
We decided to return to our square dance club even though we
had heard that most weren’t wearing masks.
When we arrived the place was packed, mostly with visitors, and only one
other couple was wearing masks.
Considering the close contact dancers have, this was not a good
situation. Later, we decided that we
would not return until fall. I told one
of the officers that we are both science majors and we follow CDC guidelines.
Speaking of the CDC, they announced yesterday that vaccinated
people no longer must wear masks or socially distance if they are outside,
unless there is a large group of people.
This was welcome news!
I realize that I have become accustomed to staying at home
and sitting a lot. Going out just once
or twice a day is exhausting. I am
trying to ease myself back into activities.
Many things are still closed—our church, for example. I am still attending lots of Zoom meetings
and classes.
Moving back to some sort of normal will be a slow process. We cannot hurry but must be patient. More people need to be vaccinated so we can reach herd immunity. We should take time to enjoy the spring flowers. Baby steps!
