Does anyone else feel like you’ve been waiting and waiting in anticipation of something really great to happen, only to feel the disappointment of having to wait a little longer? Or is it just me? Or how about those annoying 4 little words the driver doesn’t want to hear; “Are we there yet?”

My sisters came to visit me on February 18th, 2020 for 6 days. We stayed in Deland in a beautiful house they had rented fairly close to Daytona Beach. We ate, drank, shopped, and laughed until they left on the 24th. Just over two weeks later on March 11th, 2020, it was declared that Covid 19 was a worldwide pandemic. Their visit marked the end of what felt like “normal” for me. I had no idea that normal would take so long to return.

We were still living in our motorhome FT on a lot we owned in an RV resort in North Central Florida. We felt fairly safe in our bubble of friends gathering outside for swimming, happy hours, and the occasional dinner in the clubhouse. The news was getting more intense every evening creating doubts and fears of what was safe to do, and what was not. No one wanted to appear “scared” to gather, so we continued to do what we enjoy doing most as humans; gathering together.

Slowly, less and less people were in our group (some returning to Northern homes and Canada) and more and more people were disinfecting, cleaning, wearing gloves, and eventually, wore masks to grocery shop and enter public places. No one wanted to over-react, yet we were all considerate of the new norm of socially distancing (and most of us masking up). It was all very strange. Eventually, the first “stay at home” order went into affect on March 19th, and the world as we know it suddenly changed, turning vibrant cities into ghost towns. Schools closed. “Essential” became the new buzz word for everything. Essential workers became the most important people on the planet and essential goods became impossible to find. Travel was banned accept for, of course, “essential” travel. Walmart had directional arrows on the floor to keep people from meandering too close to one another. Grocery stores started to have markers on the floor indicating the 6 foot apart spots. Banks closed their doors and opened more drive-thru lanes. Fast food closed the doors to their dining rooms and had long lines wrapped around the building. Shelves became empty and panic buying set in. Toilet paper and disinfectant anything was gone.

So our lives have been anything but normal for over a year. We all have a personal story to tell. I had a Brother, Sister-in-law, and now, Son infected with Covid. Many friends and acquaintances have had it. None were worse than our close family friend who’s husband almost died and spent 77 days hospitalized. He is still dealing with the long-term affects after being intubated, having a tracheotomy, but now, only needing oxygen under stress. Covid is like a seriously bad game of Russian roulette! You just never know who’s going to get it bad and who won’t, but not a game to be taken lightly because you can die! Over 575,000 of us are now dead and gone.

Things that make you go “hmmmmm”: We buried a retired veteran/family member with only a handful of family at his “military honors” burial. We sold our RV lot basically with a “drive-thru closing.” We purchased a home almost completely on our computers with electronic signatures (only the final signatures were in-person when they handed us the keys.) We transferred all the closing money for our home in the drive thru lane at our bank. I ordered almost everything we needed for our house to be delivered to our front door. We sold our Tiffin RED motorhome on consignment and never came in contact with anyone except for dropping it off. It will be a year at the end of this May that we closed on our house, and we have had exactly 2 visits from friends conducted mostly outdoors prior to the holidays of 2020. Thanksgiving and Christmas came and went with no one to celebrate anything. The first family visit was planned for Christmas, only to be cancelled as the warnings and death toll climbed. That visit with our daughter is coming in just a couple of weeks, as we will all be fully vaccinated. We had our very good friends (also fully vaccinated) here for a visit last Saturday, only the 3rd time anyone has been in our home. We drank good wine, shared a meal in our dining room, and had some good laughs. FINALLY! Something that felt perfect and NORMAL! Many of our friends here in Florida still have RV’s and are about to head North for the summer, so we will be waiting again for better days ahead.

The one thing that I have an actual picture to visualize what Covid looked like for me is of my hair. It is a symbolic picture of what Covid did to me. Covid hair until last Friday. I haven’t had it cut since September 2019. I was in desperate need, as I planned to get it cut soon after my sisters left in 2020, but too late once the March pandemic was declared and everything shut done. From that point on, I was determined to be vaccinated before someone would be breathing near my face! (Haven’t been to the dentist either and can’t wait!) I think you can figure out the before and after below…

So, as to the answer to my question of “Are we there yet?” For me, living to get fully vaccinated and able to tell my story means YES. I am done with Covid! Over and OUT! Is the pandemic over? No. Is it done killing us? No. Could I still get it after vaccination? Yes. But I wouldn’t need hospitalized or die from it, in all likelihood. So mentally, I am done. From this coming Friday, April 16th (2 week point after my 2nd shot), I am going to live again! I have cried, I have worried, I have feared for what seems like forever, but it’s over for me.

For some people, it really never started. Some still think it’s a hoax and the ati-vaccer folks think I am out of my mind, batsh!t crazy because I took a risk and got vaccinated. I also never would have believed you can politicize a pandemic because one is an unseen virus that kills people. The other is conflicting ideas for power of government and has nothing to do with science and viruses. Yet, somehow, society has managed to govern a pandemic with politics. It’s okay. Believe what you want. But if you don’t get vaccinated, I will not be inviting you into my house or hugging you anytime soon. The old saying that it doesn’t worry you until the day it actually affects you, still holds true. When you or a family member suffers or dies, it will finally sink in that the government doesn’t care about you or your funeral.

So I am at that place of moving on with my life. I have done everything I could to keep you and me Covid free. I have postponed living long enough and I am ready to spring forward. Maybe not at full speed, but definitely moving on. Please get vaccinated and do your part to keep you and your loved ones safe because it’s better to be safe than sorry.

P.s. Don’t go to a politician for your next surgery either if you want to live to tell your side of the story…