"Just Don't Throw Up"

It’s a little sad that the thing that has kept me from getting the first dose of my Covid vaccine is the fact that I’m an anxious traveler. I practice the art of nervous driving and terrified parking. So when I finally made an appointment to get my shot, it helped that my mom very graciously agreed to go with me for emotional support.

Even though my mom was driving the car, I still managed to be an anxious backseat driver. At two points, I pointed out that we were in the wrong lane for our exit, and basically spent the rest of the drive sweating and holding my breath at various points.

As we pulled into the parking lot, I suddenly got a lot more lightheaded than I was a minute ago and felt pins and needles in my fingers. To which my mom’s response was, “That’s not a good sign! You’re going to hyperventilate.”

I didn’t, nor did I throw up, which was something I was more than a little worried about. It took me back to the day that I took my driver’s test. I was in the same car, also with my mom, and breathing heavily. It was a scorching hot day, and we had zero air-conditioning. One of the instructors stopped by my open window and said, “Just don’t throw up. That’s all that we ask.”

Yeah, throwing up wasn’t on my agenda either. My stomach wasn’t sure if it was on board with that plan, though.

In the end, getting my vaccine was pretty anticlimactic. I didn’t have to wait forever in a line, the healthcare workers were super nice, and I barely felt the prick of the needle. Sometimes, you just need to be dramatic beforehand, and then act like it was nothing after the deed is done.