A second shot brings relief and gratitude

We’ve all tried to cope. Yes, in this last year, to cope with loneliness (particularly those of us who live by ourselves), with the isolation of “work at home,” with what is for some serious financial hardship. With missing friends, and kids and grandkids. With missing the lives we’d so carefully constructed. And with knowing we’ll miss forever those we knew who were struck down by the plague of our lifetimes.

On Feb. 10, I received the second of my Pfizer vaccines, delivered by UNC Health nurses at a clinic in Goldsboro, one of the many outposts to which people have fled in search of “the shots.” I was helped t by two tech-savvy friends who jumped on the scheduling site when the shots became available.

I know it isn’t “the end,” but by Feb. 24, I’ll again be able to hug grandkids and proceeding with caution, and with a mask, to regain some degree of normalcy. And when I shared a couple of those thoughts on Facebook, the response was tremendous, with a number of friends (yes, we’re in that “senior” category) sharing their own vaccine experience and with all – all – expressing monumental gratitude to the health care workers who delivered their vaccines.

When I got home, I went first to the Starbucks near my place, to the drive through that’s been my only contact with some terrific young folks who dubbed me their “mustache man” almost a year ago. “I got the second shot!” I told them. They clapped and laughed.

The next day, I visited with my grandson Ayden, almost 14, who’s awaiting a non-socially distanced visit (he’s had the virus). I handed him the Starbucks bag with his water in it, and when he handed it back, he said, “Pops, there’s something written on the bag.” Yes, the Starbucks folks had written, “We Love You.”

We’ve all had nice and uplifting moments like this, among some that have been decidedly not so. Am I alone in seeing more angry drivers? More impatience in lines? I’m not. But I’m not alone, either, in having been blessed with lots of long phone calls with patient friends, and with distanced meals in the heat and the cold and with this Zoom phenomenon.

And I know people who have been frustrated by waiting, by delays, by their positions on the vaccine priority lists. They say I was lucky, and they’re right. But hang on, my friends. It will get better. Keep the faith.

Yes, there are those who remain skeptical of the shots, or worried about them, or fearful that some nefarious political manipulation is underway. They shouldn’t be dismissed. They are our fellow travelers. Let us not diminish them. Let’s talk. I want them with us in the restoration of hope.

Hope. Yes, that’s it. In North Carolina, we’ve had the blessing of an enlightened governor in Roy Cooper who’s saved lives with tough and judicious calls, and in a state health czar, Dr. Mandy Cohen, who I fear is headed for bigger things and thus away from us.

I’m thankful for them as two of our Samaritans, among so many – in uniform, in public service of all kinds, in personal service to the elderly, whose needs are no less intense in a pandemic. Thankful to so many, yes.

Which reminds me: To my young folks at Starbucks, I love you too.

This story was originally published February 15, 2021 at 12:00 AM with the headline "A second shot brings relief and gratitude."