Never in my whole life have I ever anticipated or outright looked forward to getting slightly stabbed.
But that鈥檚 the case right now on a Monday afternoon as I鈥檓 just a couple of hours away from getting my COVID-19 vaccination shot here in town.聽 Something like this has been looked forward to for far too long it seems, but it鈥檚 finally here.聽 Shot, jab, drain, bada-bing bada-boom, I鈥檓 outta there.聽 My brother is also listed for getting his just five minutes after I get mine.聽 Talk about convenience.
I don鈥檛 think I remember a time in our modern lives where it seems as if so much work has been done for us to arrive at this point, while remembering the fact that it鈥檚 鈥渙nly鈥� been 14 months since the pandemic started.聽 Do you know what I mean?聽 It just seems as if we鈥檝e been bombarded with so much information, every single day, from about 10,000 different sources that are running all sorts of facts, figures and numbers, that in my mind it feels like it鈥檚 been much longer than 14 months.
I remember the week that it was learned this virus was bound for North America, and to be more precise, bound for right here at home.聽 People searching for answers to questions no one knew how to ask.聽 It was scary stuff because in these modern times where we like to think we have all the answers to everything, this came right up from behind us and bit us.聽 Hard.
I remember all the intricacies that came with learning to adapt to our new environment.聽 Put on the mask, clean your hands a lot more, learn to keep a safe distance from people in public places, things of that nature.聽 There was indeed a learning curve for all of us as we were coming to grips with what the new reality was, but we grinned and bared it.
I remember all the events that either had to be outright cancelled or were adapted to still take place.聽 Roughly a year ago, it was such a treat to head over to Kenaston to watch the school hold a community parade on the streets of the village, just looking to put smiles on the faces of the people who call Kenaston home.聽 Not long after that, I found myself down in the village of Dinsmore watching a modified version of Dinsmore Composite School鈥檚 graduation ceremonies, with singular, downsized versions of the programs held at each of the graduating students鈥� homes.聽 I mean, there were what, only a few students graduating, right?聽 It seemed to be the right thing to do.聽 After that, there was once again another parade as the grads were treated like superstars in the rural community.聽 Finally, there was the parade in Outlook to celebrate the graduating class of 2020, in which people of the community grabbed a vehicle, made it look pretty or otherwise eye-grabbing and joined the route, waving and honking at the suit-and-dressed graduates who were lined up outside the school on a Saturday afternoon.
I have to say, events like that certainly seemed to go a lot farther with everyone than something that was perhaps originally planned.聽 If a school can鈥檛 go ahead with the normal, always-done-this-way routine of celebrating its graduates, then the outside-the-box way of marking this monumental time in their young lives will be much more memorable and make that much more of an impact.
At least, in my opinion, it does.
I remember all of it.聽 The daily tallies.聽 The high numbers.聽 The low numbers.聽 The news of it spreading here, there, everywhere.聽 The news of it closing this, that, and the other.聽 It鈥檚 hard to forget.聽 We鈥檙e going to remember this period in our history forever.
But it鈥檚 high time that we start looking forward.聽 Vaccinations are up and it feels like we鈥檝e started to turn the corner on this thing.聽 We haven鈥檛 reached the end yet by any stretch, but it feels like as if the fight is going in our favor right now.聽 The sun feels brighter, and the future seems more positive.
I鈥檓 looking forward to getting out over the next few months and enjoying what our part of the world has to offer.
I鈥檓 looking forward to hopping in my SUV, getting out on the open road during some time off, and just enjoying where that road takes me.
I鈥檓 looking forward to driving on up to Candle Lake, taking a swim in the water, taking a bunch of photos, and leaving all this COVID business behind me.
I鈥檓 looking forward to seeing businesses start to pick back up, open back up, and thrive as we turn the corner on this thing.聽 Small businesses have needed our help through this and they鈥檒l continue to need our help for the future.
I鈥檓 looking forward to hopefully seeing Canada Day events return here at home.聽 Last year, there wasn鈥檛 a red-and-white flag to be seen anywhere in the community as the celebrations were halted due to COVID.聽 No parade, no fireworks, no coming together to celebrate the best country on Earth.聽 So with that, one year later, I highly anticipate the return of Canada Day.聽 Bring on the fireworks, I say!聽 In Outlook, it should be one hell of a banger considering how long its been since we鈥檝e had a pyrotechnics display!
I鈥檓 looking forward to enjoying these activities more than ever because I鈥檒l have peace of mind knowing that I鈥檓 vaccinated, while stringently hoping that others have done the same.聽 We need to overcome this together.
I鈥檓 looking forward to us overcoming ALL of it together.
Let鈥檚 punt this damn COVID outta here, get jabbed, and find a positive way forward.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
