Feeling Blah

I’ve been feeling very blah. Not bad, but not good, just blah. Some of it comes from lack of activity (both exercise and things to do), some of it comes from the ongoing horrible news from across the country, some of it is typical for chilly gray days in early winter. But it’s been consistent and frustrating. I am someone who gets energy from people and I don’t spend any time around people these days (virtual work calls don’t count and my family is great but I see them every day). I am willing to sacrifice my lack of connections, but it’s getting harder the longer this goes on.

The news of the vaccine is great and super hopeful, but it is also clear that we have a long, dark winter ahead of us. I saw a reference to a vaccine being like a firehose. It’s powerful and works well against a house fire and keeps the neighborhood safe. But one firehouse (or even a couple) don’t do much against a forest fire. And what we have across the US is a forest fire of Covid. We need to get our cases under control now so that a vaccine can finish the job. But we show so little national willingness to make sacrifices to contain the pandemic. We are close to the same number of daily Covid deaths as 9/11 every single day and we simply carry on. It’s so frustrating and it feels like there is so little I can do about it.

I’ll keep wearing my mask, stay distant from everyone who isn’t my immediate family, and hope that others do, or start doing, the same.

Things that went well today:

• Hannah got her report card from school and continues to do great. Hard to argue with her watching hours of TV/TikTok when she gets straight A’s
• Caroline had a “Winter Wonderland” party on Sunday afternoon and had a great time with her friends
• We now have a new fence in the backyard which brightens up the yard and looks so much better

Things that did not go well:

• Daisy has an injured shoulder and it seems like it might more serious than we had originally thought
• Hannah’s gymnastics coach is awaiting a Covid test result so the gym has been closed for a few days – it’s nice to have Hannah home in the evenings but she misses the routine
• Jeanne’s uncle passed away – after a long illness and not Covid-related. Uncle Jim had a huge personality and will be missed in the family

Random happy find from the web:

• Not so “random”, but the historic news from England was so heart-warming.

At 6:31 a.m. today in Britain, Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old former jewelry shop assistant, pulled up the sleeve of her “Merry Christmas” T-shirt and was injected with a coronavirus vaccine – kicking off the world’s first campaign to deliver a fully tested vaccine against Covid-19.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/world/europe/uk-vaccination-covid-virus.html

Cute puppy photo of the day:

Sleepy puppy

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