I'm happy to report that I successfully achieved vaccine shot#1 a few days ago.
The setting was pedestrian in all senses: I walked to the appointment (about 80 minutes from my place), to a tiny pharmacy in a big impersonal grocery store. The waiting area was basically the aisleway between the store's self-check and the entrance doors, and about a dozen of us stood around, jammed up, masked and anxious, waiting in one line to check in, then aimlessly milling, waiting for our names to be called. It was a nerve-wracking 40 minutes of standing too close, feeling light-headed, seeing a friend and swapping distant hello's, and then finally, hearing my name and heading in for the jab.
It's a big day, I said to the pharmacy technician, as she swabbed my arm with alcohol.
She chuckled. Do you have any questions?
Where to begin? The news is nothing but vaccines and masks and fury. My mind emptied of all coherent thought. Just don't let me see the needle, I said.
She said It's all over now, and I nodded, making sure to pick up my packet and vaccine card on the way out.
After more than a year of waiting, this is finally a positive step towards--something. Seeing my fella for longer than twenty minutes. Towards seeing my family maskless, indoors, relaxed. Towards concerts and friend hangouts and catching-up drinks. For the fam in Canada, unfortunately, the wait will be longer.
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