Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Freedom

Today marks two weeks since Eliot and I received our second does of the Moderna coronavirus vaccination... and that means we have reached immunity and freedom!!!

I have so many emotions flowing through me: relief, optimism, gratitude and hope.  I am so grateful to the scientists who pulled together to create these vaccines.  I'm also incredibly thankful for all of the healthcare workers who have outdone themselves this past year.  I'm hoping that things are going to get better for all of them and that they can get the rest and breaks that they will surely need after what they've been through.

After what many of us would consider the longest, hardest, most trying year (or 15+ months) of our lives, I finally feel like things are going back to normal.  It might not be the same normal yet, but whatever our "new normal" will be moving forward.


Over Memorial Day weekend, I noticed that the Maine Mall didn't have the big arrow stickers on the ground telling you which way they wanted you to walk.  When Eliot and I went to eat at Friendly's a few weeks ago, they didn't make us give them our phone numbers- just in case there was an outbreak and they needed to contact us.

Sports have fans are back at most of the hockey arenas we've been watching the past few weeks.  It's been interesting to see which states and arenas are allowing what percentage of capacity.  Some of them are still only allowing 5,000-6,000 fans while others are allowing up to 17,000+ which is close to full capacity.  The arena was almost full at the first game against the Bruins and the Islanders in Boston.  The only section not filled was the area behind the benches that's still covered up to protect the teams.

Walt Disney World is slowly adding more capacity.  Some of the plexiglass barriers on rides have also been going down.  There have been rumors swirling around the past few weeks that fireworks might be returning soon... and the official announcement was finally made yesterday.  Fireworks at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland will be returning in July!!!  As of yesterday, you no longer have to wear a mask (at both WDW and DL) if you're fully vaccinated!  Things are changing rapidly and there has already been so much improvement!  I'm hopeful that parades and shows will be back sooner than later.  We aren't planning to go down for the 50th Anniversary until January or February of next year and I really hope that I'll be able to hug Mickey by then!


So many things have been changing over the past month or so.  No, things aren't back to normal yet, but things are certainly improving.  It's a far cry from 15 months ago when all we heard about was closures and cancellations.  Now, we all celebrate as things are slowly starting to open back up again.  

I'm feeling optimistic about where we're headed.  I'm never going to forget this last year and everything that happened.  I'm never going to forget all of the people that the world lost to the pandemic.  I'm hoping that we will use the past year as a lesson so we'll be prepared if we ever have to face something like this again.

Most importantly, I'm celebrating everyone who came together to fight the coronavirus: Cheers to everyone who has worn a mask for the past 15+ months.  (Did it stink- yes. Did it kill us- no.)  Cheers to those of us who have been concerned about our friends and neighbors and how our actions could effect them.  Cheers to the healthcare and frontline workers as well as the people developing and making vaccines.  Cheers to the world leaders and local government officials who have tried to lead us through this crisis.  Cheers to the teachers who flew by the seat of their pants to learn how to teach students virtually.  Cheers to the parents who were suddenly home school teachers on top of everything else.  And cheers to everyone for doing their best to get out of bed and make it through each day to get to the other side of the pandemic.


It's been hard, but I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  We're almost there and now I feel the hope that's been wavering over the past year.  Now, it's burning brightly.  I know we're not out of the woods yet, but we're certainly getting there.  °o°

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