Don’t Waste a Moment of Your Antibodies: Live Fully!

We counted down 14 days after our second Moderna shot. According to the CDC, after 14 days we would possess maximum antibodies to fight the virus. This immunity, which we have come to call our GET OUT OF JAIL FREE card, began on March 18.

On our first morning of freedom, we headed to our local Verizon Store. The finger touch on our old phones no longer worked and we needed more memory, so we bought new I-phones. In the process, we bonded with the young man who sold us our devices. Since that day we have gone back to him for tutorials on how to use our phones, which have facial recognition. Unfortunately, the phones don’t recognize us under our masks, so we often have to put in our passwords.

My favorite nail spa was the second stop on my freedom list. After more than a year of neglect, my toes resembled those of a reptile. The ladies that run this place greeted me warmly. Above their masks, their eyes crinkled in the corners when they smiled and they were all smiles. Ah, a pedicure and a half-hour in their massage chair, how precious this little pleasure is. I felt giddy with joy to be back to the business of living.

A word about the nail spa ladies. As Asians, mask-wearing is not new to them. Before the pandemic, they wore masks, so naturally they wear them now. Most Asian tourists I encounter in Europe wear masks. I confess: I joked about them always being masked. May God forgive me, for I laugh no more. Asians have dealt with serious communicable diseases before this pandemic. They know that masks save lives.

Recently the CDC announced that vaccinated people do not need to wear masks indoors. Great news. But this change also means we have entered a gray area of mask-wearing. At the Mosaic Farmers’ Market, which is outdoors, the folks in charge announced this Sunday that masks were no longer required. Yet most shoppers still wore them, so I masked up. Wearing a mask is the golden rule of the pandemic. I wear a mask for you and you wear one for me. Do unto others as you would have them do to you.

Going out to restaurants was also high on our freedom list. My son and his fiancée came out from DC to dine with us in the Mosaic district and help celebrate. Since our Freedom Day in March, Dan and I also have had many lunches at a favorite French bistro, a place we frequented weekly in the old days. Remembering us, the ladies who work there greeted us warmly and even recalled our usual order. We remember to tip these workers well for life has been hard on many during this dark time.

Shopping has not gone so well for many stores still do not allow you to try on clothes. Macy’s and Chico’s are exceptions to this, thank goodness, for I cannot imagine buying jeans without trying them on. I ordered jeans online during the pandemic and already gave a pair away to Goodwill because they didn’t fit. Dan and I spent some happy hours in Runner’s World having new insoles made and buying sneakers. There we got into an interesting conversation with a runner about fun hiking trails in the Shenandoah.

The National Gallery of Art opened on May 17, and we were there. We caught the Metro into the city and had lattes in the sunshine, before taking in the museum. How joyous the guards and curators were that the museum had opened at last. We had a fun conversation with one guard about how the lockdown had forced us to watch all of Netflix offerings. He let us know how glad he was to be back at work. We were glad, too, because our National Gallery of Art houses some of the greatest paintings and sculpture in the world.

Of course, the most enjoyable freedom is getting together with long-time friends. Lunch at old haunts, dinners at my house or at friends’ houses. Friday nights of a dinner followed by a hard-fought Scrabble game. All these ordinary activities, I relish as never before.

Is it my imagination or is the world warmer and friendlier than before? Everyone on our planet has experienced deep trauma from this pandemic. While we were in it together, many had it so much worse than I. Nor can I forget that much suffering and dying is still going on. I need to believe good has come from all this pain. I feel reborn with my new freedoms. While I cannot return to life as it was before the pandemic, I hope for a kinder gentler world. Let it begin with me.