Give me a pen, a notebook, and mountains and you’ve got my attention. Add about 500 plus fellow writers and I’m all in. Put us together for five days with some of our favorite authors to learn, share, eat ice cream, and dress up as our favorite book characters and well, I’m definitely in one of my happy places, even if one of my conference takeaways was Covid. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting new friends and spending time together.
Being an introvert, these last two years have had their good points for me. Staying home and not having a lot of commitments in a lot of ways was just what I needed. At the beginning of the pandemic, I could sit outside in the backyard and there was quiet. I love quiet. There was no traffic noise. All I could hear was birdsong. Neighbors I had never met strolled by and waved. We’d find ourselves standing in the street-distanced-but standing and talking, getting to know one another.
Our neighborhood held an evening promenade and everyone strolled at the same time. Those who couldn’t stroll, sat in their lawn chairs in their front yard and greeted those passing by. We connected with elderly neighbors, met new babies, and generally established a camaraderie that is still ongoing. It was good to slow down and enjoy a more peaceful time.
But the peace was superficial in that underneath it all was the unknown of Covid, the fear of what was causing this horrible disease. Where did it come from? How did it spread? With the info changing daily, what should we believe? The uncertainty was chilling. Friends and loved ones were ill, some critically, some barely showing symptoms, some dying and of those, you never knew if it would be sudden or lingering. The underlying terror of the unknown, especially with our children in healthcare and teaching, was horrible. Spending time together was scary.
People in the world began to do what people do in uncertain and frightening times-accuse, lash out, withdraw, and suspect. It was not a banner time.
Now, as we deal with the fallout from all the good, the bad, the ugly, and the stellar of the last two years, we are slowly creeping out of our safe places and emerging back into the world. We are spending time together again. It’s good to get back to church, to school, to work. It’s good to connect in person again.
Someone on Twitter asked the other day “Have you gotten a second booster? If so, why? If not, why not?” My response? “Yes, I have. Because it gives me peace of mind about getting back to normal life. I attended a conference last week and tested positive for Covid upon my return, but only a mild case. I attribute that to getting vaccinated.”
That sums it up. As a former science teacher with a medical technologist background, I’m on board with vaccinations. I grew up in a time when I suffered hearing loss as a child from a case of measles. I missed my fifth grade Christmas party because I had chicken pox. I remember my dad catching mumps from my brother and me, so yes, I’ve had the flu vaccine, the shingles vaccine, and now the Covid vaccine and all the recommended boosters.
This case of Covid was my first. After watching both of my healthcare kids go through frightening cases of it pre-vaccination, losing my dad to it just a few weeks short of his eligibility for vaccination, watching my teacher kid go through a bad case of it a couple of months ago and not being able to do anything for any of them due to the nature of the disease, my own mild case made me thankful to be experiencing it post vaccination.
When our children were babies, we had to demand that our parents put them in car seats when taking them for a drive. First demand, then argue, then insist that they: 1) correctly install the car seats and 2) use them EVERY time. The grandparents groused, complained, and accused us of all kinds of cruelty for our rigidity in the matter, but now as I strap my own grandchildren into their car seats I cannot imagine transporting them any other way. I love them too much to not do everything I can to insure their safety. The same thing with seat belts. Kent had a wreck the week after we got married and we immediately made it a rule in our household to always wear seat belts-no exceptions.
Going to this writers conference, I was excited about getting out and enjoying the gathering without the fear and uncertainty of two years ago. There were some people wearing masks and some without. In the group meetings, people spaced themselves out. Hand sanitizer was present and welcome. Just having the knowledge and some tools to hopefully avoid getting sick and having the added confidence of having been vaccinated made the world fun again. Even with all this in place, did several people contact me the weekend after the conference to tell me that they too were sick? Yes, a good number tested positive. But for the most part, the measures put in place provided safety from serious illness. Everyone I know of that got sick is now getting over it and getting back to normal life.
Just like car seats and seat belts, vaccinations and periodic masks are looking like part of life post 2020. And, after a relaxing, fun, and wonderful time at my writers conference, I’m okay with that. I’m thankful and welcome the things that enable me to get back to living life together, to spending time together. I’m already saving for next year’s conference.
Wishing you Life, Health, and Joy!
