Tuesday 25 May 2021

The Second Of Things

As I was looking at the calendar today I started to think about how I (we) have now gone through our second "something in Covid".

What I mean really is that I have now had the second birthday of both of my parents (one in April, one in May) that was Covid... times.

Last year, for my Mom's birthday, I dropped a gift in a bag (that I had placed in that bag a week before and delivered with gloves on) at the door and then went to the side of their building to wave at them (six stories up) and pretend to be happy while I cried the whole way there and back with fear I might accidentally bring them Covid and kill them and then the whole way home that I just wanted to hug them.  And last year for Dad's birthday he actually came downstairs to the front of their building and we stood far apart and talked a bit.  That was hard as Dad was pretty low emotionally and it seemed like the reality of Covid had hit home and he was feeling constricted to their place and missing interaction with others and said he realized he'd not be seeing family (and grandkids) for Christmas.  I haven't seen my Dad sad a lot in my life and that was really hard.  Really hard.

This year, for Mom's birthday we met at a local beach and they'd both had their first round of shots and we all wore masks and shared cake.  And for Dad's birthday we met at a different local beach and I'd had my first shot and we chose not to wear masks and shared cake.

I still would love to hug them (maybe soon?) and I still would love to sit in their apartment and relax inside and in person rather than outside in the elements or over the occasional FaceTime.

Looks like both of them will have had their second vaccination by the middle of June so fully vaccinated by the end of June.  Mom said maybe we could make an appointment for a hug in July or August?  I said sure and hopefully that happens, but I don't know yet when my second shot may happen, I'm only just two weeks out from my first shot (so yay for all that immunity already!!!)

This is all still so changeable and nothing is set in stone and re-openings can be shut down again and who knows what's going to come or happen next.  Uncertainty, yay!  (Not at all yay actually.)

Just I guess I was reflecting on two years of some things being impacted by Covid but also on how this year was a little closer to a normal I can handle than last year was.

But damn this has all been a long strange dream-trip... or at least it still often feels that surreal.  You know?

2 comments:

Jason Langlois said...

I'm hoping this all becomes like "The Blizzard of 96", where we speak of it in vague nostalgic terms but the details and all are faded and frayed like old denim.

Victoria said...

Well that'd be nice...