I did it. I got my first Pfizer shot Sunday morning at 5:30 a.m. I set my alarm for 4 a.m. and we left the house at 4:30 a.m. in the dark. What I liked best about the hour-long drive was the lack of traffic.

Our state lowered the age group to include me. But the downside was I could only find appointments open from midnight to 6 a.m. I’d rather get up early than stay up late, so that’s why we drove through the dark morning to the State Farm Stadium.

I was impressed with how organized they were. It was a drive-through vaccine station with several stops as we serpentined through the NFL stadium parking lot with hundreds or thousands of other cars. The many volunteers were probably on their feet all night long in the cold, cold weather. Many had torches pointing and directing us to our next stop. They were all friendly, welcoming and upbeat.

Everyone we spoke to had an iPad and entered in my appointment number, age, answers to health questions, etc. When we finally got to the tent with the nurse, she came over to my window, reached in and gave me the jab. I could barely feel it.

When we were eventually released, we returned home as the sun was rising. I crawled back under my covers and fell asleep for a couple hours. I wasn’t sure if it was because of the vaccine or just a bad night’s sleep and early wake up. Today, my arm hurts! It’s black and blue and I feel a little queasy. But I’m relieved to get shot number one. Number two is on Easter Sunday.