This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for the vaccine. Plain and simple. I trust God. I trust the scientists. I trust the research. I also want life to get back to whatever our “New Normal” is sooner rather than later.
"Is My Vaccine Ready?"
On May 3, 2021, our five year old son Sammy asked us this question. And like all the other times before this, my husband Randy and I had to reply:
“Not yet Sammy. But the scientists are working on it.”
Our quarantine story is similar to many others. We wore masks and gloves, wiped everything down, and refrained from visiting family for over two years. We pulled Sammy out of preschool, I started to homeschool him, and playdates were a thing of the past.
Our quarantine story is dissimilar as well. Sammy literally did not see a friend for over two years. At times it pained me when I called out names of his friends as a wishful prompt to get him excited about future playdates to come. He would sometimes reply, “Who’s that?” Other times he would call out one friend’s name only. Now before negative thoughts pop up of the impact of non-socialization for children due to Coronavirus and the pandemic, know that Sammy had his first post vaccine playdate two weeks ago and it was nothing short of spectacular! I will blog about it soon. Moreover, children who transitioned to virtual classes and eventually returned to physical classes, were also impacted. One thing is for sure… Covid-19 did not discriminate. We were ALL impacted.
Families did what was best for them during this pandemic. And our family decided that what was best for us was to stay inside.
There were times I had my moments and needed a good cry. There were also occasions when I was scared to death not knowing who Covid-19 would take out next. But throughout it all, I trusted God. I kept my faith in Him knowing that this too shall pass and He is in control.
This Thanksgiving I am not thinking about a turkey, macaroni and cheese, or delicious sweet potatoes with marshmallows like my mother used to make. I am not ruminating about tomorrow’s Black Friday sales. I am not putting up a Christmas tree just yet, nor wishing for more snow. Our first snow fall occurred two weeks ago and it was beautiful.
I AM setting up playdates for Sammy and looking forward to homeschool days spent at museums, parks, libraries, and on-the-road travels.
I am looking forward to wiping my eyes, while holding onto my cellphone to capture the sweet moments when Sammy hugs his 82 year old MiMi Ma (my mother) and 81 year old Pop Pop (Randy’s father) for the first time after not seeing them for over two years.
I am also wondering what will become of the multiple plain as well as decorative face masks that we have all worn for the past two years (and will continue to wear into 2022 until we can finally take them off). Perhaps Sammy and I will create a beautiful art collage of some sort.
This Thanksgiving I am thankful for the vaccine. I am glad that Sammy does not have to ask about the vaccine anymore (for now).
“Is my vaccine ready?”
"Yes Sammy. You will get your vaccine tomorrow."
The night before Sammy’s scheduled visit to Walgreens to get his first Covid-19 vaccine, he cried in my arms. He was frightened at the thought of getting another shot. Two weeks earlier, at the end of his 6th year pediatric checkup, he was quite annoyed after receiving his flu shot.
He cried in my arms and Randy and I did our best to convey to him the urgency and importance of getting THIS shot.
This Thanksgiving I am thankful for the vaccine. Plain and simple. We are thankful!
Always great reading your blogs and how Sammy is just so adorable and advance in his thinking.
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Happy Thanksgiving Tanique! Thank you for your kind words about my blog! I appreciate your thoughts about Sammy!
Lesley, Sammy is one Brave, Blessed and Super Smart little boy….BUT….You and Randy already know that!
Great Blog!
Love & Hugs and a Big Virtual Kiss to Sammy!
Gloria
Thank you Gloria! Your words bring a smile to my face and joy to my heart! Happy Thanksgiving! Love, kisses and hugs back atcha!
Sammy is so brave. Arya wants to get the vaccine. Unfortunately, we have to wait. She just had a bout with COVID19 and the experience was quite unpleasant. As a vaccinated parent, I’m sad to say that I also got COVID19. Thanksgiving was, again, not our usual. No one could come because we were in quarantine. I have to wait 3 months for Arya to get vaccinated.
Thank you Karyna! I am sorry to hear that you both had Covid-19. Thank God you were able to recover and Arya is looking forward to getting the vaccine. Thank you for reading my blog and Happy Thanksgiving!
Love and Kisses to Brave Sammy! Thanks for sharing and I hope this helps many other families who are on the fence. Let’s take back our lives by getting the shots!😍
Thanks so much Deb! It would be wonderful if others who are indecisive could have a change of heart after reading my blog. Thank you for your kind words about Sammy as well! Love and kisses right back!
Thank you for your words and pictures, they make my day happy and bright. Happy Thanksgiving Bless you and
your family
Pearl, the pleasure is all mine! Thank you for reading my latest blog and appreciating both the content and images! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family as well!
I too trust that God has provided ways to keep us safe. Praying that more people will decide like Sammy to get vaccinated.
Yes! That is the biggest prayer right now… for ALL to get vaccinated! And We Pray!
Love that Sammy is vaccinated and ready to get going again!
We prayed for this day to come Nancy and it was surreal when I scheduled Sammy’s appointments and he finally received his vaccines! But God!