Last year people were looking forward to a better than the year before scenario. When the vaccine was fast-tracked, we looked forward to unmasking and resuming life in a normal fashion. That was not to be. Along came another variant and then another.

We are in this for the long-haul folks. It is not going away. I foresee it being like a flu shot – one you need to get every year. We have now had our initial two shots and our boosters. We should be safe- right! People who have all of their shots are still getting COVID, but it is not as intense. They are not being hospitalized.

Each year I write a “Looking Back” and a “Looking Forward” to add to my diary. At this point I hardly know what to write. 2021 was not as anticipated. Neither was 2020. What will 2022 bring? It is anyone’s guess.

Getting back to normal seems to be impossible at this point. Oh, we did have a family Thanksgiving and Christmas, but still nothing seems normal any more. All of the things that we took for granted are gone. Churches have resumed but services are different. We are not to shake hands or hug one another. We are not to share snacks. Everyone now rushes for the hand sanitizer. I guess we are germy.

Really, we were always germy. Hands are collectors of germs. That is how I got my excellent immunity. I taught kindergarten for the last nine years and who knew where those hands had been.

When you go to the store if you cough you feel guilty. I have allergies and there are still things that trigger my allergies. I cough and sometimes sneeze. That does not mean I have COVID. I am not someone to be avoided. With the masks it is next to impossible to recognize friends and acquaintances. I have found myself walking by someone that I know.

I have now lived in this world for nearly four score years and have survived a number of terrible things. Before the shot for measles, I got them every time they came around. I never did become immune to them until I was in college. I recall telling my cooperating teacher if I was not there, I probably got the measles.

Then, there was small pox. I never did have a vaccination for that. I got missed because I was sickly as a child and was unable to get the shot when others got it. Every time there was a question, I always responded that I did not have one. Somehow, I got through everything without getting the shot.

Then, there was polio. I got my shots for that but did not have any boosters.

There was also tuberculosis. I had a close friend get TB. I went to be tested, but did not have the disease. That was the end of that.

As to what will happen in 2022 it is anyone’s guess. The best scenario is that we can all learn to live with COVID. We do all we can to prevent transmission but we resume our lives. I for one am sure ready for things to be as normal as possible.

I feel fortunate to live in a area where transmission is not as great as it is in some places. Big cities seem to have the highest rates. There is greater exposure there.

We shop. We go to church. We go bowling. We see friends. We visit in each other’s homes. We go to the doctors and we pick up prescriptions. Right now, that is normal for us. Welcome to 2022!

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, PA. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.