the H1N1 frenzy

after i took my pathology exam today, i took the rest of the day "off" to drive out to manassas, va (about 40 minutes away without traffic) to get my H1N1 vaccination. i didn't really need to drive that far to get it, but i have been becoming increasingly nervous as the days pass by and i keep missing vaccination clinics, continue riding the metro, and learning more and more about pathologies and microorganisms!

i arrived at the manssas mall at 2pm, an hour before the health department opened up their clinic (3-7pm today), and was about the 350th person in line. first thing i noticed was how LOUD it was in there. there were kids everywhere- running, screaming, playing, crying, all in the atrium of the mall. the sound was really amplified. second thing i noticed was the length of the line- but i expected that. 

this was the line when i got there...it starts on the left side of the photo (outside the frame) winds back to sears, comes back up, winds back to sears again, and then comes back up to where the photo was taken from...and goes on behind me about the same distance...

the woman in front of me was interviewed

her two little kids were SO well behaved! they colored, played together and hugged each other and the little 4 year old girl taught me how to count (i asked her, "how high can you count? can you count to 100?" she said she could count "this high"- as high as her waist. adorable.)

 i stood in line for about 2 hours before i was even a quarter of the way through the length of the line, but things started picking up after that, which me and my legs were very thankful for. i tried to get some micro studying done while i was in line (and i did get through a lecture), but honestly, i had a really good time talking with the people around me. everybody was SO friendly! i guess when you're all in the same boat, you really don't have another option, but  it was nice. the people in front of me were a dad and his three little ones as well as his father and a suuuper sweet older lady. she and i hit it off from the start and chatted about our health situations, (she has diabetes and peripheral neuropathy- God bless her!) her grandchildren and her daughter, who seems to help her out a lot and take really good care of her, and cell phones (she didn't know how to use hers, haha!), milkshakes, etc. she was so sweet. behind me was a man who brought his 3 year old boy. i think he thought because he came an hour early they would be there for an hour and then zip on home, because he brought his little guy in a stroller with nothing but a spongebob stuffed animal and a toy bus! the poor little guy got so bored after 2 hours (cuz his dad wouldn't let him out of the stroller...i think in the hopes that he would nap) that he ended up sleeping the next 2 hours through the line. i loved the quietness of the kids around me in comparison to the crazies down the line. also, i was super jealous of his stroller. after 2 hours of standing and a night of only 3 hours of sleep, i would've given just about anything to take a nap and have someone push me through the line.

where i was in line after 2.5 hours...waaaay up to the right is the front entrance, but i had to get all the way up there and come all the way back first! one more loop.

 about the time 250 of the 500 children were crying, these two were reading stories to each other. i'm sure their mom was proud of them.

so after the 4 hours of standing and waiting, i finally did make it to the front of the line, and despite the announcements they were making (that they were running low on the injectable vaccine) i did still get the one i needed! hurrah! i am 99% positive i would have cried if they ran out 10 people in front of me and was praying SO hard that God would save just one for me- and he did.

after i got my shot, i had to wait in a waiting area for another 15 minutes to make sure i didn't have any reactions to the vaccine, and before i left, the little old lady gave me a small pamphlet (like the kind we used to hand out for Greek IV or Campus Crusade for Christ) about her church and about knowing Jesus. this MADE MY DAY. it put such a huge smile on my face! i know i'm a Christian and i know i'm saved, but she didn't! to know that she cared about my soul and cared about my salvation spoke volumes to me, and in my mind is Christ working through her- she really blessed my day. since i probably will never see her again in this lifetime, i can't wait to see this sister of mine in Heaven and give her a huge hug for caring and for sharing the Truth with the girl who stood next to her in line.

as usual, on the way home i was thinking about it, and it was a little disheartening to think of how many people i encounter every day that don't share their faith with me- and in return, who i don't have the chance to share with or who i don't take the opportunity i'm given to share with them. if you really truly believe you have the Truth (with a capital "T"!) and that the souls of your coworkers, friends, neighbors, relatives, etc. were going to be eternally apart from God, don't you think you might want to let them know, give them a warning? why would you just let it go, or assume they know when it's something so vitally important? why is it that i have gone through my life and can probably count the times i've been presented the gospel in that manner on two hands? that's sad. Christians, let's change that. let's go tell people we love them because He loved us, and tell them what He did for ALL of us. :o)