COVID-19 Day 355 - Thinking back over a year of COVID

I can't believe it's been aost a year since this crazy virus really got going here in our area.  It has been a heck of a year.  I've been watching the numbers and it feels like we're finally on the downhill side of this mess.  

I get my second vaccine tomorrow.  I'm the first in my immediate family to be vaccinated against COVID-19.  Nick and Maggie are also vaccinated (both doses) and Grandma and Grandpa Heorman have their first doses now (or at least have them scheduled).  That's all the extended family that have the vaccine at this point.

We have refrained from going out much.  We got take out a lot in the beginning, then began going to places that offered a patio.  Now we eat indoors, so long as people are well spaced and there are dividers between booths.  We haven't been to the Y in a year.  We haven't been to Exploration Place in a year.  We haven't been to church, in person, for a year.  

We did manage to take a family vacation last summer, I think it was good for all of our souls.  We got to enjoy the beauty of Kentucky, visit family in Tennessee, hike in Illinois, and be tourists in St. Louis.  We wore our masks everywhere, even when no one else around us was wearing them.  We used a lot of hand sanitizer, arguably too much.  We stayed away from people and quarantined ourselves for weeks when we weren't sure if we were healthy or not.

It finally feels like we're getting to the other side of 2020.  We're 2 months into 2021, but it still feels like 2020 is lingering.  What I'm looking forward to, though, is a glimpse of normal again.  Our middle and high schoolers are going back to school, Michael and I are considering letting the kids join swimming lessons again, and we're planning multiple vacations this year.  I'm cautiously optimistic as I look towards 2021.  🤞