I can't help but have incredibly conflicting feelings of fear and hope this week.

On one hand, Pfizer/Biotech and Moderna have both released preliminary information on the safety and efficacy of their COVID-19 vaccines within days of each other. Pfizer has boasted a 95% efficacy rate, and Moderna isn't far behind at 94.5%. Millions of doses of these vaccines have already been produced and are ready to be shipped to hospitals within weeks, pending FDA approval.

For days, I've been allowing myself to find the hope that slipped away in March.

I've been reflecting that back in March, we all assumed that those weird cases of pneumonia in Wuhan were nothing to worry about. I've been thinking about the weeks that we spent thinking that we were just getting an extra long spring break.

My first year of college went completely off the rails. It's incredible how quickly my once certain future changed.

I've been thinking about the first time I went into a Target two months after lockdown, and how skittish and afraid I was to be in a store.

I'm thinking about the 250,000 lives lost in the United States and about the 1 million plus lives lost worldwide.

I'm thinking about where we go from here. I'm thinking about the celebrations that can take place when the majority of Americans get vaccinated. I'm thinking about the road trips that I'll take with my friends without masks and inside. I'm thinking about the hugs that I have to catch up on after months of social distancing.

On the other hand, I'm thinking about how far we still have to go.

I'm thinking about the months of waiting. I'm thinking about the recent spike in cases in the United States. That's where I'm conflicted.

Help is on the way, but until, then we need to be so, so careful.

We're all exhausted from masks and social distancing. I know. I'm tired of dodging the maskless customers in stores and questioning my every move when I leave the house.

With Thanksgiving and winter holidays quickly approaching, we need to stay vigilant.

There will be other holidays, normal holidays, once we get past this challenge. We cannot risk leaving empty seats at Thanksgiving tables next year because of mistakes made this year.

We've made it this far.

If everything goes according to plan, we're over the halfway point of this pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci has said that most Americans may be able to get vaccinated as soon as April 2021.

However, April is not today.

Help is on the way, but for now, we need to take care of ourselves and each other.

We'll take care of each other and wait for better days with the knowledge that those better days will be upon us soon. When that times, we'll have plenty of time to make up for time lost.