When this week began–the last one before my tutoring job resumes full force for the semester–I had big plans. I was going to make sure to get my parents’ Covid vaccines scheduled. I hoped to get some writing done. And a couple book clubs had invited me to zoom in with them as they discuss One Degree of Freedom. One was a book club for middle graders and the other, a book club for teens and their moms.

Before Covid, “zoom” to me meant the sound effect kids make when they play with toy cars. I had never zoomed online. Now I am a pro at zooming. I zoom every day.

I zoom for work, helping college students write their papers. I zoom committee meetings, prayer meetings, gatherings with friends. Next week, I’ll zoom in on a public library’s YA Lit Lounge and do a podcast called Hope Unyielding.

But this week, both book clubs asked me to zoom in on Thursday, just a couple hours apart. I was excited but also nervous. And immensely disappointed when both of them had to cancel due to Covid.

So I decided to focus on the vaccine.

There is only one way that anyone in my county can get a vaccination. They must call one number and they must call it from Monday until Wednesday, 8:00 am until 4:30 pm. On Monday, I started at 8:00 sharp and called it 47 times. On Tuesday, I found out the number had been changed, and I called the new number 51 times.

Then I started to panic. I decided to get really serious. I redialed the number 109 times on Wednesday. I pushed redial until the message said the vaccine allocation for the week was full–three hours early. Again, disappointment.

In case you need proof of my phone calls.

As I prayed Thursday morning, I asked God to help me let go of trying to control things. I told him I want to trust him to orchestrate my days and my weeks.

So, when I got a call from the Health Department on Thursday, I was shocked. Could this be an answer to prayer? They called to offer my parents an appointment for that day. Someone had to drive them to the appointment, so I asked if my husband could also get his vaccine. The person said yes.

Then I sucked in my breath and asked if I could get the vaccine. Now you need to know that I am several months too young to qualify. But I am a caregiver. The person said yes.

The process took a couple hours at the Health Department. Long lines, especially so with a walker. Lots of forms. And with my parents on blood thinners, we had to wait a while after their shots before we could leave.

But none of that mattered, because we got it. We got it! And we have appointments for the second dose in a month.

If the two book clubs had not cancelled, I would not have been able to go. My family would have gone, and I would have waited my turn in the last group. The group called Whoever Else Didn’t Get Vaccinated. Maybe late spring?

I’m exhausted. I’m grateful. And I realize that once again, the thing that seemed so disappointing to me in the moment worked out to be a good thing for me. The best thing, in fact.