Happy Easter weekend friends. I am sitting in bed writing this post with a house full of kiddos and a heart full of joy.

REUNITED AND IT’S THE BEST EVER

Finn and I drove to pick up my nieces this evening so that they can spend Easter weekend and the first part of their spring break with us. We haven’t seen them in well over a year because the COVID year was a vortex of lost time but we sure are going to make up for it now.

They are so incredibly smart, sweet, thoughtful, polite, good-natured, fun and beautiful inside and out. Finn was beside himself today waiting for it to be time to go pick them up and he is beyond excited to have them with us. He’s been full of belly laughs, chatter, songs and show-and-tell since they got in the car, and they’re so good and patient with him.

It’s going to be a good weekend. Speaking of good, my idea for this post was to share three good things. Obviously, this was thing one.

I GOT MY FIRST COVID VACCINE!

Thing two is that I unexpectedly got my first COVID vaccination on Thursday morning and it was an emotional experience.

I received a message through Novant Health on MyChart late Wednesday night (like 10p) that I could schedule my COVID vaccine and was shocked to a) be eligible a full week before vaccines opened to Group 5/all adults over 16 in our state and b) that the vaccination time was for 7:30 the following morning. Of course I jumped on locking the appointment and then jumped on the phone to tell my mom and then jumped into bed to be ready for my early wake-up call. I was so anxious/excited that I woke up before my alarm.

I arrived at my appointment to find a massive temporary vaccination site set up that was extremely clean, professional and well-run. I honestly got chills walking through the doors and was fighting back tears as I checked in because I was so overwhelmed with emotion that the moment was finally here. I felt the weight of the last year hit me all at once and it felt like a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. It was surreal. I also felt immense gratitude to see so many of my fellow community members getting vaccinated. We are so lucky to have access to these vaccines in our country. This Novant facility is vaccinating over 2,500 people a day this week and hoping for 3,000 next week. AMAZING.

I was listening to NPR’s All Things Considered on my way to get my nieces today and there was a story that mentioned how former President Trump said last year that the lockdowns and COVID restrictions would be over by Easter if we could just make it until then. Regardless of your politics (mine do not support Trump for the record), I don’t think any of us ever saw things stretching on this long and being this hard. It’s a huge blessing to feel like we’re finally getting to the other side of it.

The vaccine itself didn’t hurt at all. I honestly didn’t even feel it and it was the easiest shot I’ve ever gotten. I had my vaccine within 5 minutes of walking through the doors and after 15 minutes in observation with a nurse I was free to go. I felt fine for the first 12 hours and that night I kind of felt like I hit a wall. My arm was sore and I felt tired. This morning I felt extremely low on energy and like I could just lay around all day and not do much. When you have a two year old these things are not realistic so I powered through and found that my energy levels improved as I moved around and got active. I pretty much feel normal now a little over 36 hours after the vaccine. I only have tenderness at injection site but no arm soreness.

I got the Pfizer vaccine so I’ll be back in three weeks to get my second shot. Reminder, I have had COVID so I wasn’t sure what my reaction would be to the vaccination. I’ve heard that some people who’ve had COVID have a stronger reaction to the first shot because they already have antibodies. But I also have a friend who just had his second shot and also had COVID and had a harder time with the second. I really don’t think it’s predictable. One thing I have heard is that vaccines can help with long-term COVID symptoms. I am really struggling with taste and smell post-COVID and praying all the prayers that my vaccine might improve it.

FIT REVOLUTION EASTER SPECIAL

Finally, I want to offer you guys a deep discount on Fit Revolution as an Easter special and a thank you for your support and loyalty. Fit Revolution is the on-demand fitness and yoga platform that I launched at the beginning of 2021. You can stream full-length yoga, strength, HIIT, core, barre, cardio (and MORE!) classes with me and other dynamic and talented instructors.

You can use code PBEASTER to get 50% off of your first three months! And that’s AFTER you get your 14-day free trial so it comes out to well under $10/month. This offer is also valid for existing subscribers.

I’m grateful for you guys and I just want us all to feel good and be happy.

One final photo of the pups for the weekend.

QUESTIONS

Tell me something good. What’s a good thing that you have to share from your life right now? 

What are your workouts looking like a year into the pandemic? Are you at home? Back at the gym? In a studio? Using an app? 

Have you been vaccinated?