Today, I had my second COVID jab. I feel grateful, happy, relieved. I recognise how privileged I am to be living somewhere where I was able to access the vaccine. And I feel lucky. My tee wasn’t a deliberate choice when I threw it on this morning, but jeez, it sure does feel appropriate right about now.*

I also feel…

One step closer to not being so anxious.

One step closer to not worrying all the time. 

One step closer to not calculating how close someone is standing.

One step closer to avoiding lockdowns.

One step closer to not having to check in everywhere we go.

One step closer to not thinking every sniffle, every cough is a sign of something more sinister than just a sniffle, just a cough. 

One step closer to stressing less about my parents getting the virus. 

One step closer to walking into places without first counting how many others are there.

One step closer to being free to meet up with friends in crowded bars.

One step closer to not assessing risk at every step, every move, every breath.

One step closer to not scrutinising testing numbers, vaccination numbers, virus numbers.

One step closer to borders opening. 

One step closer to crossing borders.

One step closer to the Qantas Business lounge.

One step closer to getting on an aeroplane.

One step closer to walking the streets of New York.

One step closer to hearing Mike Stern at the 55 Bar on a Monday night.

One step closer to cinnamon buns in Copenhagen. 

One step closer to more in-person diabetes peer support. 

One step closer to presenting on a stage instead of a zoom room.

One step closer to IRL #docday°.

One step closer to hugging friends from far flung places. 

One step closer to thanking my squad in person for keeping me going.

One step closer to kisses on the cheeks say hello. 

One step closer to not having to get up at least once a week for 3am meetings for projects run outside of Australia.

One step closer to walking the halls of diabetes conferences again. 

One step closer to this being over.

One step closer to life as we knew it, even if it will never be the same again.

*My tee wasn’t a deliberate choice when I threw it on this morning, and it wasn’t until I was on my way to getting my jab that I really though about it. There’s a story to that tee, and today, it feels pretty special.

In January 2020, I was in my favourite store in Melbourne (shout out to Sian at RMP Melbourne), and there, on the racks, was a white t-shirt, from Rabens Saloner, with ‘Lucky one’ printed across the front. Startled, I took in a sharp breath and lifted the shirt from it’s hanger, holding it up to me. And I flashed back the last day of EASD in Barcelona just a few months earlier, remembering…

I remembered how on that last day of the conference, walking between the hotel and the conference centre, I saw a stencil of the words ‘Lucky One’, the paint dripping from the words. It was on a concrete wall with nothing else around it. It summed up perfectly how I was feeling, so I snapped a pic to remind me.

Here is that photo…