THE SHOTS...

 

Just one week ago,

 we thought this never would happen. 

 We kept hearing that shots of the vaccine 

were being given around the country 

but our little corner of the world 

didn't seem to have gotten the message.

  I called the doctor's office,

 the health department, drug stores

 and everything else I could think of

but couldn't find a thing available, 

except on waiting lists. 

 Then last Tuesday, 

our son-in-law said he heard that

 CVS was opening up time slots, and making appointments for Thursday. 

 I went to bed with the computer on 

and kept getting up every three hours 

to see if I could find something but nothing,

 until around 8:00 AM 

and there it was.

Just to let you know 

this is not a photo of the Captain 

trying to steal a shot from a baby, 

although at that point in time,

we were ready to try anything! 

 I have just thrown in a few photos 

of a cruise to Alaska 

that we took a few years ago 

for lack of anything else to show.

I quickly put in the Captain's name and info 

and found that the

 closest CVS Pharmacy to us

 that was giving the vaccine 

was in Auburn,

 about a 45 mile jaunt, round trip,

 from us.  

I put in his name 

and got an appointment for 11:45, Monday morning, February 15. 

 By the time I filled out what was required 

and then entered my name,

 the only time slot I could get was 4:45, that same afternoon, so I took it.

  Everything was set and we knew

 we would have to make two trips on the same day,

 but that was OK as we could stop for dinner at In-N-Out Burger 

after my time slot. 

 We signed up for our

 second dose at the same time

 and it is scheduled for March 15, 

exactly one month from now.

One year ago, 

we were not really aware 

of what was to befall us

 in such a short time,

 and I wrote a post then

 that turns out was more truthful than I could ever have known. 

 It was almost as if I had a crystal ball

 and could look into the future. 

 It was called Kaleidoscope

 and you can read it again here. 

 One part that stands out to me was: 

 "A kaleidoscope of views 

that could be, 

and probably will be in another time,

 so much worse than

 they are right at this minute. 

 It is a phase and event 

that holds so much gratitude

 for the here and now..". 

 

 And the gratitude is very present

 after only one short year has gone by. 

 Who would have imagined that a vaccine 

would be researched, tested and made available to combat this virus 

in such a short amount of time? 

 After the initial signing up,

 it seemed that everything had finally fallen into place 

and we were set.  

Fast forward to the day of our shots:

  

We arrived at CVS in Auburn at about 10:30.

  We had received a call 

that the Captain needed 

to check in at the pharmacy

 before getting the shot 

to correct something on his record. 

 When we stepped into the store

 we were met with some confusion and people lining up in different directions.  

An employee was telling us

 that they were backing up and we would have a little bit of a wait.  

She suggested that we go

 back outside the store 

and check in about every fifteen minutes.  

We wanted to make sure our name and time

 was on her list so she checked 

and, no, we weren't there.

 At this time, however, she said they were letting husbands and wives go together

 so I didn't have to come back at 4:45. 

 She then told us to 

go to the back of the store

 and check at a window there. 

 As it happened, 

when I was putting the Captain's info 

into the computer,

 I misread the first number 

on his Medicare card, 

saying it was an S instead of a 5.  

After that was cleared up, 

that lady sent us to wait on aisle 16.  

We did and there were not

 too many in front of us 

so we got our shots 

within about 15 minutes.

  We might still be waiting in line now 

if it wasn't for my little mistake. 

 We waited for 15 minutes after 

to make sure there were no complications 

so, all in all, after the initial start, 

it was pretty smooth sailing. 

 The only down side was

that it was too early for dinner 

so we didn't stop at In-N-Out.

They have opened up vaccination spots 

in town now 

and as we just walked in the door

 from getting ours 

we got a call from a pharmacy in town.

  Oh, well.

  Now, someone else will get an easy one.

  Isn't that almost always the way things go?

 In real time,

 the outcomes are not too bad. 

My arm was sore last night and this morning

 but the Captain reports he feels fine.

Stay Smart

Stay Well

Stay Home

And

Wear Your Mask.

...Judy...

I could tell you 

this is what we look like today,

BUT, 

the time stamp on the photo said 2007. 

Time does have a way of flying by

 and, believe me, 

it is not that kind!

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Love Your Creativity at Life and Linda