I am sure this is the question on many peoples’ minds these days. Yes, we have endured the quarantine for months now and been forced to change our schedules and way of life. Yes, it has probably flattened the curve of the spread of Covid. But, what is the cost being extracted? How many of us have been able to accept this “new normal” without any difficulty? Being off schedule and out of sync with our lives before Covid is very frustrating and tiring.

Personally, a few of the changes I made are praying more, finally using the treadmill I bought a long time ago every day while listening to podcasts, talking more to family and friends via phone and social media, as well as the usual every day activities of cleaning, meal preparation and baking. Baking has always been a source of enjoyment to me, and I have been through about 30 lbs. of flour so far. I thank my friends who are willing to accept the cookies and other treats I drop off for them. I also have watched more Netflix series than I would like to admit to. Some of them were outstanding and addictive. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t put them on until later at night, which meant staying up to 2 or 3 AM.

I retired one year ago and had plans to unclutter my home, something I was making progress with until the pandemic hit. Since there was no place to bring my unwanted items, this plan has hit a roadblock. Hopefully in the near future, I will get back on track and be able to find a thrift shop open to accept my usable but unwanted items.

On the plus side, I am able to see my adult children and grandchildren. Since my daughters live closer than my sons, I see them more often. My sons visit occasionally and I did drive up to my oldest son’s home for his birthday.. At first, we did porch or patio visits, now because of the heat we do in home visits at a distance. I have used the front porch more now than I have for the 24 years I have lived in this house. Friends have stopped by too, for porch chats while social distancing. We also use the Duo feature on our cell phones, so that we can see each other even if it is from a distance. Thank God for that type of technology.

I am a person that needs to get out of the house. Having monthly lunches and dinners with my friends was always the highlight of my social calendar and I am missing interacting with them. I also realize now how much time I spent shopping, mostly grocery shopping but occasionally a trip to the Mall. To be on the safe side, I resorted to Instacart for a lot of my grocery needs, but now make occasional trips to the local grocery and hardware stores. It just feels so good to get out of the house!

Tomorrow, July 4th, I will be making my first road trip in months. My son Michael and I will be driving to PA to visit my brother and sister-in-law and sister and enjoy my brother’s yearly fireworks extravaganza! I am so excited to see them. The more I think about things, the more I realize how important family is and friendship is. Family and friends are the ones we can count on to help us get through the tough times together. I feel blessed to have the family and friends that I have in my life.

Let’s look forward to the future, even if it is a “new normal”, hopefully at some point things will return to “almost normal.”