Vaccine, Princesses, and Orca Whales

"Dad, when I get big like my sister, I want to get vaccinated. I won’t cry when I get the shot."

This proclamation by our 4-year old Sihasin came on the heels of showing me her princess-themed drawings and telling me about the dream she had about riding on the back of an Orca whale.

In summary, our daughter’s brain read:

1. Getting vaccinated

2. Princesses

3. Orca whale rides

And since 4-year olds are gifted with the ability to imagine without restrictions of reality or linearity, here is what I guess that her mind was really saying:

"I will be dressed as a princess on the back of an Orca whale when I roll up my sleeve to get the vaccine, suppressing my tears."

For me, currently at the American Public Health Association conference, her interpretation of the news over the last week about an imminent rollout of the COVID vaccine to younger ages, was beautiful. No long explanation needed. Just aspiration to be amongst the vaccinated. (Side note: I firmly believe and recommend bringing toddlers with you on business trips.)

Taking Sihasin’s lead, here is a short writing exercise for us all today:

* Get out a writing utensil and something to write on.

* What is an aspiration that you have today? Write that down.

* Now think of two other things that have recently (in the last minutes) crossed the ticker-tape flow of your thoughts. Write these down.

* Put the three items into a sentence. Correct grammar not necessary. Extra points awarded for silliness, zaniness, and anything that is hard for your realistic mind to comprehend.

* Share your sentence for us in the comments to this blog post.

* Have fun repeating the sentence in your head throughout the day. Smile uncontrollably while doing drawing the sentence in your mind. Dance in the street while imagining it. Forget your officemates as you act it out from your cubby. Etc.