Almost two months ago, as you already know, life was turned upside down for so many of us. The world as we knew it seemed to come to a complete halt.
Restaurants, businesses and entertainment venues were forced to close up shop. Many people woke to find out they were out of a job, while others figured out how to navigate working from home. Schools closed. Weddings, graduations, proms and other big life events were canceled.
COVID-19, or the coronavirus, made its way across the United States. Many have been infected and fallen ill, some have even lost their lives.
Now, as we approach the end of shelter-in-place orders and states are figuring out how to safely reopen, I think we are all grappling with returning to life as “normal.”
More specifically, I’ve been taking some time to consider what parts of my “normal” life I want to continue and, more importantly, which parts I would like to change.
I hope after the coronavirus is just a weird, distant memory that we all continue to carry some of the things we did to stay sane and pass time with us.
I’m sure everyone is tired of hearing things like “uncertain time” and “coronavirus” and “new normal,” but please, bear with me.
This is what I hope our “new normal” looks like.
I hope, even after restaurants are open, that we still take time out of our schedules to occasionally search for new recipes and cook fun meals as a family. I hope restaurants still offer “kit” options, so that we are all able to support them while crafting our own creations together at home on occasion.
I hope that even when it's safe to return to our busy schedules and extracurricular activities, sports and events dominate most of our evenings, that we continue to have nights just for watching a movie as a family or playing board games.
I hope that parks and trails continue to have full parking lots and that we continue the tradition of daily walks or bike rides as a family or with our pups.
I hope that hobbies started during this time as a fun way to pass time are kept up, even if it isn’t as often. May you continue knitting, sewing, baking your own bread, painting, drawing, tending plants or whatever it may be. Not every hour of the day is meant for productivity. I hope we continue making time for things we simply love to do.
I hope animal shelters continue to empty out as quickly as new animals come in. I hope that all animals adopted during this time now have their forever homes and won’t have to see the inside of a shelter again.
I hope that we continue to give grace to those who are struggling. Right now, some of our struggles look the same, from losing jobs to feeling lonely or isolated. However, I hope we continue to have compassion for others, even when we don’t know or understand their struggles.
I hope we never again take for granted the hug of a friend, visits with parents and grandparents, worship with church family, a shared meal at a favorite restaurant, date night with a loved one, the sound of a favorite song played live, the feeling of stepping off a plane in a new place, among many, many other things.
I hope all these things that have been necessary or priorities during the past few months continue to be priorities moving forward, from quality time as a family to trying new things to helping others when we can. And, I sincerely hope we thoroughly enjoy and never take for granted each opportunity and each experience.
Nikki Rowell is a Sun staff writer.
