Answer: Preparation

Hello again and welcome to my blog where all thoughts and opinions are my own and may or may not be shared with others! 😉 

Let's just remember that as we go along together today on our adventure through the information jungle on a high speed train with lots of twists and turns...okay? 

First let's go through our families updates from the past month:

Military 

As far as Da Beasts job goes nothing has changed. He is still being trained by following others around on their "tickets" or jobs where something is not working and they need to go fix it; and completing a sheet of tasks. The secretary of defense issued a mandate for military members to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to which the Air Force has complied and set in place dates in which these vaccine(s) need to be completed by. (Complete article: click here.) Other than that there is only one more "update" for the military but this one is more personal; as of today, September 22nd 2021 we have been a military family for one whole year. Last year on this date Da Beast took his oath and flew to Texas where we began this wild and intensive learning experience!  

Life

Speaking of anniversaries, Da Beast and I just celebrated our tenth one. 

To celebrate we pattered our evening after our reception which was Beauty and the Beast theme with a menu outlining the reception events and food so for our anniversary I made another menu which is pictured above. 

• As a tradition every year for our anniversary we have the food that we had at our reception: party meatballs, raw vegetables and dip, brownies and cheesecake in some variety or another. Because these are more "snacks" I usually alter them to make more of a dinner like we did with reception leftovers on our honeymoon when I found some bow tie or farfalle noodles in the cupboard of our vacation rental. However, with this anniversary being the tenth one I figured it was time to write down a fancy 3 course dinner. If you're curious, and maybe even so I can reference this later when I forget what I cooked, here are the links to the recipes I used for dinner or similar ones I found because I already don't remember what recipe I used, exactly: 

Bread Dipping Oil - Food Lovin' Family

Honey Garlic Meatballs - The Frugal Girls mixed with another recipe I can't seem to find that involved tomato paste and chopped jalapenos. It basically looked like this:  

26oz frozen meatballs

1-6oz can of tomato paste 

1/3 cup soy sauce

2-3 cloves of minced garlic (half of recipes suggestion) 

3/4 cup honey

~No Spices added from recipe~

1 seeded and diced jalapeno pepper

Add all ingredients into a crock-pot and mix well to evenly coat meatballs. Cook on low for 8 hours stirring meatballs about halfway through if you can. 

Brown Butter Farfalle is just that basic because I wanted to use the barbecue like sauce from the meatballs to go on the noodles and in order for there to not be too much conflicting or overpowering tastes I just browned some butter and coated the noodles in it. 

Autumn Roast Vegetables - I usually just do whatever vegetables I have on hand to roast. It's always some combination of red pepper, sweet potato, carrots, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms and/or broccoli. I coat them in olive oil, minced garlic, and salt and pepper and then cook them in a preheated 400 degree oven for 40 min, mixing halfway through. 

Brownie & Cheesecake - Instead of cake for our reception we had our two favorite desserts: cheesecake and brownies. I didn't make these but instead bought them from the commissary. 

Sparkling Punch - I also bought this because I thought it'd be fun to try Welch's Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Rosé that I saw at the commissary. Also it is "Rose" so how could I not with the whole Beauty and Beast theme?!

After dinner and dessert Da Beast and I read or referenced notes from the past ten years and how much we care for and admire each other through it all while the kids took pictures:

And then we looked at all of the picture books and binders you see in the the above pictures and told the kids our wedding story. 

• We finished off the night with our reception video since it was getting late and then the following night Da Beast and Baby had their dance to Bob Carlisle's "Butterfly Kisses" and Bubba and I had our dance to Christina Perri's "A Thousand Years". After that we had a little dance party and that was it! 

There really isn't much more of an update than that from this past month. We are continuing our normal routines which is normal for us but if you want me to write it out in the next post of what we do on a "normal" day for us then comment below! 

Now that the updates are done we're going to move onto the topic of this blog post: 

Vaccinations

*gasp*, hurry grab your defense mechanisms, comfort strategies, justifications, and panic button... you know...just in case. Did your heart rate go up a little or stall just now? Did you clench your teeth or your butt cheeks just from reading the very word? 

Don't worry, I cringed a little as I typed it all out too so now that we're on the same page let's put away all the defenses, justifications, and the panic button because I really don't think you'll need them. This post will hopefully add to your library of comfort strategies you keep on hand. If not you can stab me later with your verbal pitchfork that I know you're probably still holding onto but hear me out first before you do that okay?

Okay. 

Let's talk....

COVID-19 Vaccine 

Oh yeah. We're going to start big because this has got to be the most controversial vaccine talked about right now even though vaccines of any variety have been in the hot seat of conversation for years. I wanted to start talking about this one because then I feel we can work our way backwards from all the confusion surrounding it and due to the recent mandate to be fully vaccinated as an Airman. Da Beast HAD to get it but that doesn't necessarily means he wanted to. Why? Because of all the unknown, misinformed, and equally persuasive information out there. We are in a world were information is vastly available but with it comes confusion and anxiety because we are told to "do our research" to make a correct decision but there isn't a clear formula for accurate and correct researching because everyone can produce what they want you to know. At least not that I know of. It's really hard to find actual truth and with this vaccine that truth seems to be buried in politics. If you disagree, that's fine, you don't have to think it's political. Whether you disagree or agree I'm going to explain why I think it's political. 

Those on the "right" say it is dangerous, ineffective, suspiciously timed, and invasive of personal privacy AND constitutional freedoms. 

Those on the left say it is safe, effective, a miracle, and our duty. 

Both sides have evidence that justifies their claim and both sides produce a response from the other "side" that justifies their evidence. For example the left says there will be "restrictions", "proof of vaccine" and "mandates" that need to be had for safety and efficiency. The right would see this as proof that this takes away our freedoms as choice and is pushed because of an agenda. This would then further frustrate the left and more incentives and restrictions result. It's a never ending cycle of distrust that causes the truth to be unclear. 

Another thing that is suggested to do when you are about "researching" for what to do concerning the vaccine is to consult with a medical professional. This is also hard when there are medical professionals leaving their jobs because they weren't ready to take the vaccine but were being forced to OR when they declare that they have been working elbow deep in it all and they know for sure it is necessary. Which medical opinion is more accurate? It is unclear because of all the push and pull surrounding the vaccine. 

So if you can trust no one because they are all trying to accomplish their own goals or push their goals on another, if you cannot trust your own research, and if you cannot even trust a medical "expert" then what CAN you do? 

The answer is the title of this blog: preparation. The very thing I hear so very little about that isn't also surrounded by something that sounds like it's trying to persuade you one way or the other. And I'm going to tell you how I think you can prepare yourself. 

Childhood Vaccines 

To do that I think now is the time to go to go backwards to the beginning and work our way back to the COVID-19 vaccine because we have to clear up a few things first. We, first,  have to understand the purpose of a vaccine from it's creation: to help people. Trying to immunize your body from something that wreaked havoc on many lives has been practiced in many different ways for many years. While I was reading the two history articles I linked I was envisioning the scene in the movie "Princess Bride" 

Although this is a movie I think it's applicable to vaccinations, immunizations, and more natural ways of protecting your body from viruses and diseases. The difference between Wesley and Vizzini was not "who was right and who was dead" but who was immune. If you read the articles linked and highlighted above, specifically this one, you will see all the vaccines administered during childhood at specific times in history and will even see that there are a few that are no longer on the list as time goes on. The immunity became so strong society no longer needed the vaccine for it. And that I believe is the goal and center point of those who create and administer vaccinations. Every other belief and fear stems from that center point, but the main purpose is to help our bodies to heal and protect them from further harm. Most who enter the fields of molecular biology, biochemistry, chemistry, and/or microbiology in pursuit of studying, researching, and creating vaccines is to help people. I haven't talked to any one personally, of course, this is just my opinion as stated at the beginning of this blog but digging around in my memories of watching interviews of anyone who goes into the medical field to learn more about the human body is so that they can help others. It's my best guess. Do I also believe that opinion, fears, and corruptness can still penetrate into the medical field including vaccines? Yes, yes I do. It happens everywhere and with anything. But that is straying away from the core belief of the vaccine and in order to clear up the confusion that is what we are trying to focus on here in this blog post. Then afterwards you can take it how you like and figure out what is best for you. 

The Missing Piece

So now that we've talked about why and what vaccines were created and administered for let's talk about what I think is missing from this game of tug of war: you. That's right, you, the one who actually decided to give this blog a chance and have read it up to this point and trying to hold yourself together. What both political sides keeps missing (as far as I am aware) in their calculated responses to vaccines is the individual. And this has been a on going poo-flinger debate for more than just this past year. Many claim that natural methods are the way to go and always have been. We have been given the Earth and it's resources to keep us healthy and that's all we need. They fling their distaste and foul opinion at those who disagree with them. Others claim that scientific methods are the way to go and that we have evolved to provide for ourselves. We have been given our minds to keep us healthy and that's all we need. They fling their distaste and foul opinion at those who disagree with them. Then there is the third party that believes both cannot possibly be right. Finally there is the fourth person who believes all are right. 

There is a story that Jack Kornfield shares in his book "A Path With Heart" that goes right along with this example I have given. His story is about the right way to practice spirituality. There are two men who believe they are practicing spirituality the "right" way and the other is wrong. They go to their master to end the debate but instead the master says both are right. The third man i the story is confused and says that they both can't be right. The master smiles and tells the third man that he is also right. The point that is being made in both my example and the one Jack Kornfield presented in his book in Chapter Three on page thrity-two, is as Jack perfectly wrote, "There are many ways up the mountain and each of us must choose a practice that feels true to our heart. It is not necessary for you to evaluate the practices chosen by others. Remember, the practices themselves are only vehicles for you to develop awareness, loving kindness, and compassion on the path towards freedom." 

Taking this and applying it to how you should maintain your heath is something only you know and can take control over. It is not our responsibility to cross examine how others choose to take care of themselves. Each "vehicle" of heath is available for each individual to take. If you don't know how to drive the car you shouldn't be forced to sit behind the wheel and drive it. If you don't know which wine the iocaine powder is in and you haven't immunized your body against it you shouldn't be drinking it, and if you don't know if your body will be able to handle a vaccination you shouldn't be forced to have it. Instead you should be learning more about yourself. I feel like there has been only two voices heard when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine: the one that says you will be apart of the healing of society and the other that you will suffer and possibly die. Neither voice seems to care about the person in the middle of this tug of war. 

Preparation  

The best way to know if something is right for you is to research and study yourself. The vaccine, should you decide is the right thing for you to get, is not going to fix everything. The sheet you get with the information about each vaccine will even state that they are unsure for how long each vaccine will last and if it'll protect everyone. It hasn't been proven because there hasn't been enough time to provide evidence of how long or effective they are. Just being told to get the vaccine is only a band-aid solution. Here are some things I think should be consider. I am not a doctor, nor do I have evidence of these suggestions working, nor am I saying that any or all of these will cure you of ailments, diseases, viruses, or the like. This is all my own opinion. 

1. What are you doing now to help promote your health? Do you exercise, get sunlight, eat a balanced diet, take vitamins, use essential oils, seek counseling, clear and clean your space often, etc? 
2. Research the ingredients in the vaccines and determine if you are allergic to any of them. If you are unsure take the list of ingredients to the doctor and ask specifically for a way to test if you are allergic to those ingredients...not if you should get the vaccine or not. I would also seek to see how helathy your heart and liver are as these two main organs will help to flush out the vaccine. It is my belief that most deaths or severe reactions to a vaccine is because the person was either mandated to get the vaccine when they already know their body does not handle vaccinations well OR they had no knowledge of what they were allergic too and found out the hard (and possibly) deadly way. 

Once you have evaluated and prepared yourself in those two areas AND have prayed, sought counsel, and  decided it is safe for you to take the vaccine I would recommend to do the following:

       3. Determine the best time for you to take the vaccine. I would recommend to schedule your vaccine

           for a day(s) of the week that allow you to have ample time to deal with any side effects. Also for 

           females with menstrual cycles or if you believe in lunar cycles, I would recommend getting the

           vaccine after your menstrual cycle or after a new moon when your body is in it's highest recovery

           state. I would not recommend getting the vaccine right before a period as this is a time where your

           immune system is at it's lowest and your body recovers slower. Again...my opinion. Should you   

           decide or have to get the vaccine you will know when the right time for you is. 

       4. Once you have the day you will be getting the vaccine begin to increase your health (see above     

           examples if you need to) about a month before. Then the week before I would recommend taking

           supplements and using essential oils that help promote respiratory, liver, and heart health. The 

           morning of the vaccine I would take the fenugreek and thyme supplement as well as place the 

           lavender essential oil on your neck, eucalyptus on your ribs, essential shield on your upper arms, and            oregano on your feet using a carrier oil. Then after the shot before bed I'd place the recovery cream               on the arm with the shot. 

       5. A few other things I'd recommend keeping on hand are quick meals like soup, some bananas,                        bread, and a reheat-able hot pack for ache muscles.

Hopefully this blog post helps clear away some of the differing opinions surrounding vaccines so that YOU are able to make the best decision for yourself and your family. And even if it has been mandated for you to get the vaccine and you feel as if your choice has been taken away just know that you will always have choice. You can choose another job, you can choose how you educate and prepare yourself, you can choose the day you receive the vaccine, and you can choose to have hope and trust in your intuition. 

I believe in you.           

XOXO

-Megan 

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