Social (re)openings

 

I was thinking this to myself at the check-out of Anthony's the other day. This luxury gas station is one of the most popular go-tos year round in York, Maine. Here you can get gourmet pizzas, micro beers, and the world's largest cupcakes alongside gas, chew and lottery tickets. Due to its overwhelming popularity, we typically avoid Anthony's in the summer. But since COVID-19 began, every time we've visited southern Maine we've relished in Anthony's empty aisles and short check-out times.

 

As we rolled into York last weekend after our typical 11.5 hour drive from Leesburg, we decided to quickly pop-in to Anthony's for some dinner salads. Throngs of people and empty deli bar shelves proclaimed the great news: “Maine is re-open for business!” Good for local business owners. Bad for those of us who had grown used to walking the beach all by our lonesomes.

 

We've been fortunate in the United States to have had a slow-boil return to our frenetic, moving lives. Like lobster placed in cold water while the stove underneath is lit, we've had some months to warm up our social dance cards since spring's vaccine roll-out. I recall the first, the birthday party of a friend's daughter, which really set the bar. It was, for all intents and purposes, a community block party. Ponies and a small petting area were brought in from western Virginia. Everyone mingled with masks. The children got to be as close to other children as they'd been able to in a long time. The yearning to chat and laugh was electric. All in a residential DC neighborhood. My favorite takeaway line was when my friend conceded, “We probably should have gotten a permit for those ponies.”

 

That was late March. Now, some months later, as I visit grocery stores, I've lost the reflex to grab the mask from my car's console. I am comfortable to sit and eat indoors. At church this past Sunday, we were able to share “the peace.” And thanks to progress in my home country, last week the Canadian government relaxed its quarantine rules for vaccinated Canadians who wish to enter Canada. As a result, my parents are planning to visit us in Maine this summer! There is so much to celebrate.

 

Yet I paused the other day to reflect on how quickly I seem to have picked up my life just where it had left off. It made me consider, “Have I learned anything from this pandemic? Should I have changed something about the way I live my life?”

 

I'm still working through these questions. So far some things I want to keep going forward:

• Giving myself an extra 5 mins to get anywhere so I can stop outside and greet neighbors on the way to the car
• Not planning out my whole weekend full of obligations or social events so I can sit on my screened-in porch and enjoy the newspaper
• Having family pizza night on Fridays
• FaceTime book reading with our son and his grandparents
• Writing letters and thank you notes
• Horseback riding
• Picking my son up from school

If COVID-19 has taught me anything, it is life's preciousness and that I actually really enjoy hanging out with my family. I want to safeguard as much of that time as possible going forward. We have one shot at watching our children grow up. It's been a total blast being along for the ride this year in a very front seat sort of way. I don't want to lose that spot.

 

How about you?