Remember the good old days, way back in February of 2020? Here is what happened most days around my house. I came home from my job about 20 miles away from home, and the world was our oyster. If Hubby and I didn’t feel like cooking what we had planned for supper, we could choose from any number of local restaurants. Or, if we were up for an adventure, we could take a short drive to a nearby town, and widen our horizons. No preparation necessary. I pulled up in the driveway, he hopped in, and we were off.
Ah. For a simpler time. Today, many of our favorite locations are struggling. Most offer drive-through or curb-side delivery only. So, if we drive very far away to get our meal, it will be cold by the time we come back to our kitchen table.
To enjoy our food while it is hot, we usually just cook something at home. We have also re-discovered the art of the picnic. It takes more planning, more preparation now. We call ahead, take along napkins and drinks, and have a parking place in mind near the restaurant. In one particular parking lot, we have a favorite shady spot to back into, and spread our dinner out in the back of the pickup truck. We enjoy watching the traffic drive by on the busy street as we eat our leisurely supper.
Weekends before the pandemic reared its ugly tentacles featured longer journeys to visit family and friends in Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas. For those trips, we did have to prepare a little bit, taking along enough changes of clothes, and finding suitable lodging if the folks we were visiting didn’t invite us to crash with them. Now, to visit those same loved ones, technology is our friend. No luggage required as we all gather on our couches or kitchen tables and “zoom” to be together. The grands usually have a new joke to share with us, and we have witnessed karate and acrobatic demonstrations, heard clarinet and guitar solos, and even laughed our way through card tricks.
Long distance digital-assisted visits have been an unexpected joy. But, what I wouldn’t give to grab one of those precious little ones as they careen past the screen on their way to show us their newest toy or book. If I could only follow through on my promise to “Hug you up in little bitty pieces.”
Sundays are different these days as well. Although our place of worship is located fairly close to where we live, in former days we did have to spend a few minutes making sure we were dressed suitably, and had our breakfast dishes done before assembling with our brothers and sisters. Now, with the help of technology again, we can settle in our recliners in whatever we got out of bed wearing as we participate in real time in all aspects of worship. Hubby hasn’t quite gotten as involved as I am. I am often the only one standing and singing at the suggested times, but it doesn’t matter. God understands that we all worship in our own ways. Thankfully, He is also able to intercept prayers coming from homes all over the countryside in the same way He hears collective ones coming from a stained-glass sanctuary.
Vacation planning has also come to a screeching halt. Many of our trips revolve around events attended by lots of other people, and those people are wisely staying at home just like we are. So, no cruises to tropical islands. No tromping around with mouse-eared tourists on their way to waiting in long lines for wild rides. There had even been a chance that I would check something off my bucket list on the first day of next year when our oldest grandson was set to march in the most flowery parade ever on the West Coast. Cancelled, Cancelled, Cancelled.
With no immediate plans on the calendar, our dreams are becoming bigger and better. When that day finally arrives that we can set a date, Katie Bar the Door! Bucket list items may begin to fall like dominoes!
Even a regular work day looks quite different. No more gassing the car up on weekends for the trek to town. Business suits and dress shoes are hanging out in the closet most days, as my desk is located within stumbling distance of where I wake up each day. Though I join in on meetings by phone, my level of hair brushing and makeup wearing is totally optional. Again, I am so thankful for the people I work with who know how to make things function from remote locations. My co-workers are grateful too, as with help from my HR team members, none of them have missed a pay-check since this whole thing started.
Since most of my readers share my hair color, you probably remember a song released in 1985 by The Bellamy Brothers. It has meaning for our generation even today. “He’s an old hippie, and he don’t know what to do. Should he hang on to the old, should he grab on to the new? He’s an old hippie, this new life is just a bust. He’s not trying to change nobody, he’s just trying real hard to adjust.”
Keep trying. And keep adjusting. Wear your mask and stay healthy when you go out in public. I’ll be here looking out from my front porch.
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