Adapting to a New Reality

A grandmother’s journey to getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Photo Essay by Oliver Hamlin

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Linda Allen is a social butterfly.

“My husband taught me to be a very outgoing person, because I wasn’t when we got married,” Linda said.

At 75, she still keeps up with high school friends, church friends and neighbors. She lives in a quiet cul-de-sac in Mount Vernon, Washington, the town where she grew up and spent most of her life.

Despite her three daughters being a couple hours away and living alone with her 8-year-old dog Phoebe, Linda has found ways to keep an active social life during the pandemic.

Left: Linda holds up a treat as Phoebe, her 8-year-old miniature labradoodle, stands on her hind legs and spins in a circle in Linda’s home on March 7, 2021 in Mount Vernon, Wash. Right: Linda’s 8-year-old miniature labradoodle, Phoebe, sits on her lap in Linda’s home on March 7, 2021 in Mount Vernon, Wash. “She has been one thing that has helped me get through this year,” she said. “If I didn’t have her, I would just be totally lost.”

“I just love it here,” Linda said. “Before the pandemic hit, [high school friends] met every month at Haggen to have lunch and they would come up from Seattle. So, I have a lot of connections here.”

From video calls and online church gatherings to socially distanced walks with her neighbor Judy, almost every aspect of Linda’s life has changed.

Left: On March 7, 2021, before the release of the pre-recorded service at First United Methodist Church, Linda joins a video call at her home in Mount Vernon, Wash. with members of the church for coffee hour. The church has not been meeting in person, so the congregation only meets online or for drive-through events. Right: Linda, right, walks with her neighbor, Judy Fisher, on March 4, 2021 at Riverfront Park in Mount Vernon, Wash. The two grew closer during the pandemic as they were each other’s main source of in-person social interaction. In addition to walks, Linda and Judy also shared meals together outside on Linda’s deck.

Linda is at high risk for COVID-19 as a cancer survivor. For much of the pandemic, she isolated and took extra precautions, like having her groceries delivered.

At first, some of the changes were challenging, but Linda found ways to adapt. At the start of the pandemic, Linda felt bad that her daughters were driving from Seattle, Wash. just to buy groceries for her and Judy, so she figured out grocery delivery. While she still misses working out at the Young Men’s Christian Association, Linda chose to do physical therapy at home.

Linda makes a grilled cheese with homemade sourdough bread her daughter made for Linda’s birthday in her home on March 7, 2021 in Mount Vernon, Wash.

Other changes, however, have been harder to adapt to. Linda spent Thanksgiving alone; on Christmas, she worried all day about friends who were sick with COVID-19.

“I think that the most difficult aspect of this whole pandemic for me is being holed up alone,” Linda said. “It’s just been kind of an overwhelming year for me and to be alone, through all that, it’s been challenging. But, I’m just not gonna let it get me down.”

A quilt in Linda’s living room is displayed on a couch on Feb. 6, 2021 in Mount Vernon, Wash. Linda spent about five years away from quilting after her husband passed, but she regained interest in it during the lockdown.

Linda’s kids consider her technologically literate for her age. Unafraid to send emojis or figure something out online, she utilized technology throughout the pandemic to make her lifestyle more comfortable.

This was especially clear when the COVID-19 vaccine rollout began. Instead of phone calls and in-person meetings with a doctor, Linda got a tip from a friend that she could schedule her vaccination online.

Linda Allen poses for a portrait with and without her mask after receiving the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine outside a clinic on March 1, 2021 in Mount Vernon, Wash. “I feel like I can get my life back,” Linda said. After receiving the vaccine, she had flu-like symptoms and low energy for a couple days.

“I had that appointment in about 10 minutes after going online,” Linda said. “Then I get Judy [and] I said, ‘You’re going to have to come into the house. And we got to get you an appointment, too.’”

After helping Judy, Linda helped two other friends get vaccination appointments.

Linda misses going to the Y and attending Silver Sneakers, an exercise class for older adults. She also looks forward to having dinner inside with Judy.