“It ain’t over, till it’s over!” — Yogi Berra
This past weekend, the weather in the upper Midwest changed dramatically from unseasonably hot temperatures — 20+ degrees above normal — then dropped below normal for early fall. We went from wearing short sleeves and short pants to sweaters and sweats. We turned-off air conditioners, or closed open windows, we turned on the heat or used our fireplaces. Instead of outdoor social activities like dining al fresco, we began moving indoors.
Like the past three-and-a-half years during the pandemic which now can be classified as an endemic, most of us now get vaccinated in the fall. This year in addition to the annual flu shot and pneumococcal vaccine, there’s a new RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus) immunization, plus the updated COVID vaccine protecting us from the newest variant. Health experts suggest that moving forward we will receive an annual COVID vaccine like the flu shot.
It’s the eve of the holiday season. Soon we celebrate and gather with friends and family, mostly indoors for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas (Hanukah, Kwanza, Boxing Day, and Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan), followed by New Year’s Eve. We exchange gifts, share traditional holiday foods, and infect each other with viruses and bacteria.
The past six weeks, in addition to my regular activities, I’ve attended two funerals, a celebration of life, a housewarming, visits with my ex-husband in a rehab facility, numerous P.T. and doctor appointments (hospitals and medical facilities are highly contagious environments for illness) and a couple of indoor events with 20 or more people. At some of these occasions, I’ve exchanged hugs, kisses, or shaken hands.
Gratefully, within the past three weeks, I’ve received my higher dose Fluzone shot, RSV, and COVID vaccinations. I’m protected, however this past week I came down with the common cold. Tis the season.
Get a flu, RSV, and updated COVID shot this season to protect yourself and the people you love and care about.
Dispatch from the Hideout: The COVID-19 Journal Project
Circling back to the end of February 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic, I was forced to spend more time in the Hideout to protect my physical health, safer-at-home, I soon discovered that the isolation also affected my mental. emotional, and spiritual health. When the Wisconsin Historical Society launched the Wisconsin Historical Society COVID-19 Journal Project, I was all in, and to date, including this essay, I’ve contributed twenty-four installments about my experience, plus the three musings that preceded them. When you click on the links under related reading from Mixed Metaphors, Oh My! at the end of this essay, you can read the entire series, (soon to be a book).
For those new to my Dispatch from the Hideout series:
I began my Dispatch from the Hideout as a one-off essay in July 2017 to describe my reaction to events in the world and my need to retreat. I was also grieving the losses in my life, the most recent at the time was my mother’s death in 2016. I introduced the series as follows:
Now, before I go any further, it’s important that I share with you that my hideout is a virtual one. I don’t have a cabin in the woods, or a bunker in the basement, I only have my home, a 645 square foot apartment. It’s where I wake up in the morning, retreat at the end of the work day, hideout on the weekends when I’m writing or feeling introverted, and end my days, often falling asleep on the couch watching TV. Yeah, I’m that girl. I live alone and most days I’m happy with that choice.
I discovered that the Dispatch from the Hideout metaphor was a useful vehicle for me to express innermost feelings, like grief and gratitude, moments when I faced my shadow, or questioned my choices, plus the times when I reflected on the larger world of which I’m simply a member, navigating things outside of my control, yet still have an impact on my heart, mind, and spirit. The Hideout metaphor served me and soon became a series.
Things Change
First a little background on my current status, from the Dispatch from the Hideout: Endemic Edition:
Three years (and now, three-and-a-half) into the COVID-19 pandemic, we are the next stage of its evolution as the virus becomes endemic. It’s now living with us, and for some, living in us as Long COVID. To the best of my knowledge, I’m a Never COVID, COVID Virgin, or COVID Target. Yes, I’m still vulnerable, however, I’m grateful. It required three years of isolation including, social distancing, healthy practices, sacrificing time with friends and family, avoiding indoor restaurants, stores, and events, many of which gave my life meaning and pleasure. For some of the past three years, I worked remotely, and when in the office, sometimes masked.
This year after recovery from my hip replacement and its gift of increased mobility, I’ve returned to my pre-pandemic life to some degree and began doing the things I enjoy that feed my spirit. Simple things: Movies in theaters, afternoons in museums and art galleries, concertgoing and plays, and most important, attend larger gatherings of friends and family, both indoors and outdoors. I want to spend more time outdoors in nature, take road trips, hike, and meditative walks.
I’m still reticent to attend large music venues or indoor events with crowds. Due to the distance of some of our family members and our father/grandfather’s advanced age of 93, we no longer gather for holidays in the same way as in the past. We celebrate in smaller groups, which for our father/grandfather is a gift. He lives alone and now has smaller, but more frequent visitors and holiday gatherings.
During the pandemic, I’ve celebrated many ‘home alone’ holidays. Now I need to create new traditions, some with bio family, others with chosen family and friends. I’m grateful for some of the responses to the pandemic and the choices I made to protect my health and the health of friends and family.
Chief among them is the creation of our Pod Squad, a small circle of bio and chosen family who share the same values and protections to remain physically healthy in responsible ways and healthy emotionally and mentally as well (see Dispatch from the Hideout: Quarantine Bubble). Yesterday, the Pod Squad with some additional ‘old broads’ gathered for a three-and-a-half-hour potluck brunch when we shared good food and great stories.
Life is good. I’m grateful.
A Look Ahead
As we begin the long winter of the COVID endemic and seasonal illnesses, we each need to strategize on how to remain healthy, not just our physical health, but our emotional and mental well-being too. Many of my friends and family have had COVID and recovered, while some experienced more challenging symptoms. A small number believe they contracted Long COVID, and others COVID a second time with symptoms varying from mild to severe.
As I age, some of the strategies of isolating during the pandemic, plus recent medical issues including a hip replacement and accidental fall and fracture of my arm at the shoulder, have now become habit. I assess whether I want to attend large indoor events and venues. It’s a risk vs. benefit equation. I default to smaller events and activities that by design have some degree of social distance, or are attended by friends and family I know and trust, who share similar health safeguards for themselves and on behalf of the larger community.
I will continue to venture into a crowded movie theater on occasion to see a film on my must-see list as I did with Barbie and Oppenheimer. I will attend music concerts in smaller venues, visit art galleries and museums, see plays, dine out with friends and family, and attend work conferences and events. I’ll wear a mask when needed, or asked, and test for COVID if I show symptoms.
Moving forward, I will live my life, yet not be reckless. Yes, things change! Those days are in my past. I’m grateful that for my age and genetic legacy, I’m healthy, and longevity gratefully runs in the family. Life is good!
Related Reading from Mixed Metaphors, Oh My!
Dispatch from the Hideout: Casualties
Dispatch from the Hideout: Endemic Edition
It Takes a Village: Lessons Learned
Additional Reading on the Topic
What to Know About the Updated Covid-19 Vaccine for Fall/Winter 2023
As Covid 19 hospitalizations climb, rates among seniors and children raise concern
Feeling Terrible After Your Covid Shot? Then It’s Probably Working
COVID shots may slightly increase risk of stoke in older adults (now they tell me!)