I don't know how COVID things are going where you are* but in my neck of the woods, it looks like last April or May. You know, back in the days when people were still not sure if they were supposed to wear a mask or not? Kind of like right now, when people aren't sure if they are supposed to wear a mask or not, ha ha.
And there are a lot of 'firsts' going on as people in my area are starting to do pre-pandemic things again. It is all a little surreal in some ways, as I do things that feel completely normal and then have the, "Oh, yeah" moment.
Like going to Church. I have been doing this every Sunday since I was born. Then there was the pandemic, and we weren't meeting in person, and now we're back to meeting in person and it feels so normal. I'm seeing my Church friends in person again and we're picking up where we left off, but then there's the little tell-tale sign: talking about getting vaccinated, or not doing something because of COVID, or what have you. Or there are the little moments when I remember that I haven't seen such-and-such a person in over a year!
There's other things, too. Hugs and handshakes. Going into a store and reaching for a mask and realizing I probably don't need to wear it (I still do most of the time, because I'm just not sure). There's the headline in my newsfeed announcing COVID cases. That used to automatically appear in my google newsfeed. Now, not so much. I have to look for it usually. Even the algorithm is in post-pandemic mode.
All of which makes for an interesting time, but the thing I find most interesting is how quickly we've all moved on--at least, in my neighborhood. So much of the surface of life is just back to normal. And maybe it's just my brain that adjusts so quickly, but I have these conversations where I hark back to the beginning of the pandemic and it feels so distant and removed. We talked about alternative work schedules after going back into the office, and I knew that once I get into the routine of the office, I won't want to work from home. Again it may just be me, but the adjustment to COVID life? On a surface level, it was just so rapid. And adjusting back? We quickly forget. While also deeply remembering, especially those of us who lost loved ones.
And it's the deep remembering that I worry about for me. It took a long time for me to really feel the impact of the pandemic on myself in a recognizable way. And now that we are adjusting again, I'll quickly adapt on the surface, but if I'm not careful, in a year I may find myself struggling only to realize that that adjustment also took its toll. For some of us, it will be a much quicker realization, with immediate effects. For others, it may seem fine until weeks or months in.
And so we need to give each other the grace to not always be okay. We need to watch out for each other and remember that even though on the surface, we're back to work and back to life, we are on that deep level not all okay. This isn't a new lesson, and it's not something that is only applicable after pandemics or serious global suffering, not at all. It's just an opportunity to get better at it on an individual level, since everyone has been impacted by the same thing. And so the message is: moving forward, remember that we all need space to have that deep recovery from the last year and a half. And that even though it was a shared experience, it was also deeply personal and unique for each one of us. So, remember to be kind.
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