First Shot

Got my first shot today.

First Shot

As a pediatric nurse, I was in the first wave of healthcare workers eligible, and I’ve been counting down the days since they announced the schedule.

I thought I’d be all business about it. Show up, get the shot, back to work. But when the pharmacist handed me that little card with today’s date on it, I completely lost it. Sat in my car in the CVS parking lot and cried for ten minutes.

It wasn’t the needle (though my arm is definitely sore). It was the relief. The hope. The feeling that maybe, just maybe, we’re turning a corner. That maybe I can hug my kids without that tiny voice in the back of my head wondering if I’m bringing something home from the hospital.

Shot two is scheduled for three weeks from today. I’ll probably cry then too. And I’m not sorry about it.