Nope. Probably not what you’re thinking, though I’m so hoping you’ll stick around to find out!
Yesterday, Bill and I had our second Covid vaccinations. It was quite the adventure!
We went to a different vax site than the first round. Much closer, mileage wise, than before. The annoying woman in Bill’s phone who was navigating neglected to mention some type of major glitch with I-85 in Atlanta and, yes, to quote my West Wing buddies, that’s a road which generally gets used a lot.
We got there, though, and followed the big signs all over an abandoned shopping mall for where to park and how long to stay in the car. (It was 80 degrees yesterday!) Then, once we were inside, we followed green arrows on the floor and the vague directions of yellow-vested helpers until I began to hope we’d wind up in Oz, where I’m pretty sure a vaccine is not needed.
No biggie on the actual injection front. Just a gentle warning from the kind nurse that “some people were having more symptoms than with the first dose.”
We had been warned by my sister and son that this might well be the case.
So, what, you are probably wondering, does any of this have to do with a ring?
Well, this is a Great Grampie story!
First you need to know that we moved a whole lot when I was a kid.
It all began in the sixth house we lived in before I got to first grade. Early 1960’s. Split level “modern” house with an actual farmer in the backyard.
My sister, who was 2 or 3 houses less along, had trouble with her one year old molars. According to the pediadontist, they had no enamel and were in great danger of decaying and causing all her other teeth to move around.
So, the adventure of the stainless steel crowns. My dad and I spent a lot of time in the waiting room which wasn’t so bad for me because they had good toys.
They also gave every patient (and occasionally their sisters) a plastic bejeweled ring in an enlightened effort not to pass out lollypops.
Fast forward a bit and my dad was dealing with the need to have his wisdom teeth removed. Sadly, the pediadontist was a bit out of his league and a referral was made.
This time, Mom and my sister and I held vigil in the waiting room and listened to all the directions about sedation and soft foods for when he was finished.
After what seemed like forever, a nurse appeared with my dad in a wheelchair, face twice the usual size, yelling, “I want a ring!”
It’s been a family joke for ages. One that came vividly to mind this morning when some clueless but well-meaning soul woke me with a lawnmower. I was achy and a bit dizzy and the first thing that came to my mind was, indeed, “I want a ring!”
It’s entirely possible that Bill wants one even more than I do at the moment.
Now, I can almost hear you wondering why I’m telling you all this. Well, my answer is the same as it was last time.
President Biden asked me to.
And, after leading my wondrous new group of Soul Expression Breakthrough sisters before we set off in search of the vax place, there’s another answer as well.
I’m telling you this because, as nutty-crunchy a consumer of health care as I am, I went and had the vaccine for my girls.
So I can hug them, for sure. But also so that we’ll learn about this whole pandemic thing and get enough in front of it that those we love won’t be counting empty chairs around holiday tables.
So they can feel safe in school. (And, yes, that one has other factors to work on, but this is what I can do today.)
And because I’m hoping that somebody, somewhere will read this story and realize that they, too, have some really big reasons for getting vaccinated. In the meantime, more tea and, probably, a nap.
Blessings for you and yours!
And thanks that there is extra soup in our fridge! This is definitely a soup sort of adventure!