Life in the year 2021

 January

January passed like a lightening.  Jasmine turned 16th. She had extra ear pierces. She still did remote learning from home which had continued from March 2020. 

Covid-19 vaccines started to be administered to medical professionals, frontline respondents and essential workers.

Timeline of Covid-19 vaccines administered in US
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_vaccination_in_the_United_States

February
Jasmine had annual checkup which was skipped in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic.
Her spine X-Ray caused a concern and we were waiting for the next X-Ray in August.
I was still working from home.

March
Jasmine joined Fencing club, reunited with Kate (now Nate) and made new friends. She had minor oral surgery to remove what is called "Mucocele" 

April
By April 19, 2021, all U.S. states had made Americans aged 16 and older eligible for the vaccine.^[15] 
Jasmine and I received the 1st Pfizer shot on April 7th and the 2nd shot on April 30th.
Interestingly, Walgreens mixed Sodium Chloride in the vaccine as well.  Due to my curiosity, I found this link that helps how to prepare Pfizer vaccine. Indeed 0.9% sodium chloride (normal saline, preservative-free) was being used.
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/info-by-product/pfizer/downloads/diluent-poster.pdf
Jasmine had her cavity filled and Dr. Akbar, her dentist recommended her to use night guard.

May
On May 4, 2021, Biden announced a new goal of having 70% of U.S. adults vaccinated by July 4, 2021.^[14]
On May 10, 2021, the FDA approved the Pfizer vaccine for adolescents aged 12 to 15.^[16]
This year Tax filing was extended from April 17th to May 17th. Jasmine received her night guard and started to use it. She should use it as it costed $536!  LoL. I worked in the yard removing the old rotten lumbers and once when bending down, I ended up hurting my lower back so bad. I thought I would not be able to walk any more or I might have slipped disc. Luckily it was not all that bad but from now on, I need to not overdo myself. My body was aging too! Well, my mind was still like in 20s. The doctor prescribed Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory medicine.

Last day of school was May 26th. Jasmine hung out with Stephanie, her Korean close friend. 

Oh, and I started my garden with tomatoes, eggplants, watermelons, and lettuce. Two tomatoes started to show! 

June
United States vaccinations
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/28/960901166/how-is-the-covid-19-vaccination-campaign-going-in-your-state
At least one dose - 53%
Fully vaccinated - 45%

Georgia (rank 7th from the bottom. 😅)
At least one dose - 41%
Fully vaccinated - 34%

Jasmine kept learning how to drive. She started to get used to controlling my Mitsubishi Mirage G4 a little by little. 
My garden had 4 tomatoes! They were growing good. We had rainy days on and off.
Jasmine spent time with grandparents at the end of June.

July
Jasmine went to Vegas with her dad from July 13th - 21st. I was worried about Delta variant and was so glad she came back safe and sound. I went to see one of my close friends in North Carolina from July 22nd to 26th. Wow, the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport was packed! It took me 45 minutes at the security check point. I had a good deal $180 for this round trip ticket with free of charge for carry-on. And I also got a good deal for parking at Sonata Airport South hotel for just $28 total.  Seeing my friend and her family was also a blessing!  It was a great get-away time during this Covid-19 pandemic era. 

August
Jasmine started 11th grade. Even Cobb county declared state of emergency as Covid cases surged, Cobb county still did not order mask mandate. Starting week #3 after going back to school in person, on August 17th, Jasmine had cold like symptoms; fatigue, stuffy nose, cough and light headed. She stayed home for 3 days and had PCR test with negative result. 

On August 30th, the school sent an email to me saying "we learned of a student/teacher/staff member who tested positive for COVID-19" and "At this time, your child is NOT a close contact and does NOT need to quarantine".  Jasmine said still kids did not wear masks.  And we talked about what if some kids indeed got infected but no symptom and still went to school.  

In Georgia, 5,399,366 people or 50% of the state has received at least one dose.
Overall, 4,376,166 people or 41% of Georgia's population has been fully vaccinated.

Georgia cases went up again almost close to the peak last winter.

https://www.ajc.com/neighborhoods/cobb/cobb-county-declares-state-of-emergency-as-covid-cases-surge/G3CGT4BCZZBLFBMVLUTDYNPABE/
https://usafacts.org/visualizations/covid-vaccine-tracker-states/state/georgia

Oh, I almost forgot about Jasmine's spine x-ray. The result was slightly better but it was still close to surgery recommended level. The doctor asked for the next x-ray in May 2022.

September
Time flied so fast.  I could hardly remember what happened in September. Ah, right, Jasmine started to drive on the real road for the first time. She used to just practice within her school's parking lot. In September, she first drove through the back of our subdivision and continued on Wesley Chapel road and went into Mabry park. Couple days later, she drove back home from Nate's house and also from dad's house.

Pfizer booster shot was authorized by FDA and approved by CDC for at-risk groups.

October
Jasmine had PSAT test on October 13. I got a chance to watch Jasmine competed in Fencing tournament at Pope HS on Oct 16. It was my first time seeing her fence and it was so much fun. I taped her fist match of the day which she won 5-3. She looked cool! I love the fact that the results were up real time on fencingtimelive.com. 

The 2nd Fencing Tournament I went to see was at Pinecrest Academy on Oct 30, 2021.  We had to get up at 6:00 because women started first that day. Little bit sleepy but fun!

Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shot was authorized by FDA for at-risk groups.

Delta Plus variant started to spread in UK.

November
Time flies.  Today is Christmas day and I can hardly remember what happened in November. On November 16th, Jasmine and I had an appointment with Mrs. Johnson, Jasmine's counselor at Lassiter HS to go over college planning. Jasmine worked on Art projects for the theme "Body Modification". I took her to take pictures at a tattoo shop and at our neighbor's house. Around the end of November, the school called me saying Jasmine was identified as a close contact of a person tested positive for Covid-19.

December
Omicron variant first identified in November in South Africa, by now, had spread around the world. Jasmine and I had PCR test on December 7th and the result came back negative. I joined Woodbine Association Annual Meeting for the first time in years and I volunteered to be our subdivision Web Administrator. Jasmine finished her 11th Grade Fall semester with all A's. I am so proud and happy for her.

I am going to a retreat with Sirinat (Maew) between December 27th to January 2nd at Temple Forest Monastery. I am praying for our safe and smooth trip as Covid-19 cases are surging and the temperature is getting much colder in Temple, New Hampshire. As there will be no Wi-Fi, no phone signal there, I hope to really have time to self to withdraw from suffered mind and regain strength and mindfulness to move on with my better self in the year 2022.

One last thing, Covid-19 might not be forever going away from our lives, I just hope that in the year 2022, we will reach the point where we can be safely live with it. I wish for my wish to come true. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to us all.