Pandemic Diary 2021 – Boostered

I said I was done with pandemic diary posts for this year—I lied.

I got my Moderna booster on Tuesday, December the 21st. Walgreens was packed; this city—a suburb of Charlotte—has been expanding so rapidly and immensely since I dropped by a few years ago, and was obligated to stay. I went into the store at a quarter till noon and had to wait an hour, even with an online appointment and filling out paperwork beforehand. About half of the people wore masks; half didn’t; I did wear mine.

The shot went easily enough, like last time; there really isn’t anything to it. I’m unsure why people are frightened of it, and yes, I read it as fear (trypanophobia?). I’ve had periods that were far more painful. The second shot last time did knock me in on my ass, but, as I wrote earlier, I’ve had periods that were far, far more unpleasant. The symptoms afterward were tiredness, body aches, sore joints, digestion issues, and headaches; however, this entire pandemic, I’ve been unsure as to what was what because I’m going through peri/menopause and all of those symptoms above are peri/menopause symptoms, not to mention getting older.

Is it omicron or delta or your period or a cold or flu or allergies or anxiety or long covid or perimenopause or food poisoning or migraine or a tumor (“it’s not a tumor”) or PTSD or parenting is just so hard lolol or too much sitting and screen time and stress or IS IT COVID or
— Farah Miller (@farahlearned) December 19, 2021

After the first shot in May, my period went away till September then returned, which was really disappointing. It is rather annoying to buy boxes of tampons not knowing if you’re going to need them.

My mother told me that she doesn’t ‘trust’ the booster—this after getting vaccinated. It took me forever to talk her into it the first time around. She will do what she always does, the foolish woman. She insists on listening to her fool family and their arrogance and ignorance; this, while they tell her that so-and-so has Covid and ‘needs prayers’. I cannot. I wash my hands of it. I write that, but more than likely, I’ll keep trying.

I found another great body wash, for those interested—Aveeno Skin Relief Fragrance-Free Body Wash with Oat to Soothe Dry Itchy Skin, Gentle, Soap-Free & Dye-Free for Sensitive Skin. Less expensive and thick enough to produce a great lather plus non-smelly. I cannot stand excessive fragrance or parfume in lotions, oils, or washes. I did get the Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Dry Body Oil Mist with Oat and Jojoba Oil and while the feel of it is nice, it is far too strong in fragrance.

Joan Didion has died. If you haven’t read The Year of Magical Thinking, you absolutely should. It is a masterpiece in literature.

You need to listen to this Rachel episode.