On March 19, Susan and I returned to Enid, Oklahoma to receive our second dose of the Pfizer vaccine. We could have waited a week or two and received our second shots at work, but time was of the essence. According to the CDC’s website, people are considered to be fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving their second shot. That date for us was April 2, two days before Easter.

The weather Sunday afternoon was just about perfect. It was warm, but not too warm. It was windy, but not too windy. For the first time in over a year, my family and Susan’s family came over to the house. Everyone brought food and desserts. I popped a fresh batch of popcorn and had a movie playing out in the movie room. The younger kids searched for Easter eggs while the older kids threw bean bags at the cornhole set I bought last week. Susan grilled burgers and our kitchen counters were filled with all kinds of pasta and side dishes.

The kids have been going to school, and we occasionally go to the store, but it will take some time to adjust to gatherings. My sense of “personal space” has changed over the past year, and frankly, being around a dozen people, if only for a couple of hours, felt kind of exhausting.

But it also felt pretty good.