It was frustrating until it wasn't

Well, that was quick.

My wife and I, both just over 70, had been feeling a bit left out of the vaccine party. As of last week, we were on SEVEN lists for appointments. No luck. When we heard that next Monday teachers and 65-year-olds were eligible, that didn't help our impatience.

BTW, I am in favor of teachers getting the vaccine ASAP. Until schools are fully functional, I honestly can't see the country returning to any sort of efficient state.

Anyway, I almost randomly checked in to a list on Sunday morning, found lots of morning openings at St. Joseph's Hospital, signed up, my wife got signed up, and we had an appointment for today. We just returned from our outing to Denver (about 30 miles from our house), have each had the first shot of the Pfizer, and have our appointment set for the second dose. 

Hats off to St. Joe's. They have great signage and free parking just steps from the vaccine clinic. Lots of helpful people to check you in, guide you, do the shots, check in with you as you wait for 15 minutes after receiving the shot. 

As you might expect, women were doing the work, along with a few male people of color. 

The mood in the clinic was "happy." People didn't come there because they were sick, but because of the promise of NOT getting seriously ill. 

The estimate is that my wife and I will be as safe as a vaccine can make us by mid-March (a couple weeks after shot 2). Things won't change that much for us, of course, other than our mental health.

I was talking with our neighbor, and her approach is to NOT get vaccinated (though she said she had just gotten the shingles vaccine). She's a Trump supporter but she is our age and appears to be unarmed. 

How typically American to make a simple health decision political.