A RETURN TO NORMAL

 

    

   A RETURN TO NORMAL

I keep reading that, in the wake of the recent pandemic, we are in the process of “returning to normal.” Obviously, all of us would like that to be true. And if it is, will the “normal” that awaits us look like our old normal, the one we knew before, or will it be some new and altered version of normal? How would you describe the normal that awaits us?

We see the signs daily, on the tube and in the newspaper. Some of our more daring neighbors are kicking back, living out what they hope is the returning normal. They are dining out at the local restaurant…..inside at a table, not the “take-out” window. They are having drinks with friends at the local bar, or gathering for public events. In those often-crowded settings, where each person’s vaccine status is anyone’s guess,  masks and social distancing sometimes seem to be last week’s news.

For some of us the returning normal will be about employment…..the opportunity to work again, or the return of a daily commute to the office. For others, “normal” will include sending the kids back to school, and hopefully finding reliable day-care.

To be sure, there are still unanswered questions about our “post-pandemic” normal….what it will look like, how it will feel? Heck, it seems as though “post-pandemic,” as in “after” the pandemic, may itself be a misnomer.

If enough of our fellow citizens continue to reject the available vaccines our “herd”  may never achieve the immunity we once assumed would be part of our new normal. Unless there is a drastic change in vaccine acceptance it is possible that COVID-19 will remain an operative part of our ongoing normal…..something to be guarded against for years to come.

True, the pandemic numbers…..case loads, hospitalizations, and deaths…..will continue to decline. But the virus, with its periodic surges and mutating variants, may be with us for a long time…..lying in wait for unsuspecting souls.

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All of the above may well describe our society’s future….the normal we must learn to live with. For the moment, however, I prefer to view my own family’s “return to normal” through a different, very personal, even selfish lens.

You see, for the first time in seventeen months, since Christmas 2019, Roma, I, our four children, and their spouses gathered for a weekend at the coast…..to celebrate our youngest’s fiftieth birthday and the liberating reality that fully-vaccinated adults can take such liberties. Though we were too timid to do the crowds downtown, our beach house gathering fit us just fine.

Best of all, the “normal” we experienced together felt just like it always has. It was so……so normal. We visited, and caught up on news of the grand-children and great-grandchildren. We played cards and other silly games. There was ping-pong and foosball. We dined together, followed Phil’s attack on the PGA course, and watched my beloved Spurs choke again. Those who were so inclined walked on the beach, while some of us caught up on our napping. Best of all, hugs had become fashionable again.

We were together for just two short days, but are already making plans to gather again. No matter what our nation’s evolving definition of  “Return to Normal” may be, I heartily recommend that all of us make room for a personal sort of normal, the sort that includes family and dear friends.

That kind of normal was appropriate pre-pandemic, and will continue to be appropriate post-pandemic. So why not give it a try?