in the queue

I had a phone call yesterday inviting me to the medical centre today for a Covid jab. So I went.

As I waited I realised it was all a bit emotional.  I have much to be thankful to the NHS for.  Yet again my life is in the hands of medics.  And with this an enormous sense of relief that this might just be a sign of an end to this awful thing.

At the same time, guilt.  There are people much older than me who've not yet had the jab.

I explain this to the person who's about to vaccinate me.  "It is what it is" she says; "you're on the list".

She looks at my list of medication and notices the anti-coagulant. "I'm going to have to press on your arm for a bit to make sure you don't bleed. It'll take some time.  Tell me a joke."   So I do.