Flirting with Normalcy

For fifteen months, much of the world has been on hold. Celebrations, reunions, events, and gatherings — postponed first a month, then six, then “maybe next year?” as we gradually became more conditioned to blank spaces on calendars, distanced interactions, and making routine plans with the same small number of individuals (if any). We waited, we endured, and we anticipated — and then suddenly, normalcy was within grasp.

As we dip our feet into what we used to call “normal”, many Californians also recognize that they are not exactly the same person as when the pandemic started. Even though the world was on hold, the people within it were continuing evolve; as we re-emerge and flirt with the idea of normalcy, many of us find ourselves incorporating the habits, wisdom, and coping mechanisms that we developed during fifteen months of solitude.

LEFT: Saili W. eases back into socializing by hosting a small group of close friends for dinner on Thursday, July 15, 2021, at the east Oakland house she moved into with her partner during the pandemic. Since moving in together, she and her partner have started learning to garden and cook all types of food. One of their greatest new joys since California’s reopening is hosting backyard dinners and sharing the foods they have learned to grow and cook during the pandemic ( Anna Kenney, J110). CENTER: Preparations for Korean hot pot sit waiting to be added to the soup at Saili W.’s backyard dinner on Thursday, July 15, 2021. Korean hot pot is one of Saili’s favorite foods — but because it was nearly impossible to experience properly through take out during the pandemic, Saili and her partner decided to try making their own. (Anna Kenney, J110) RIGHT: Amanda K. enjoys sake and the delicious smells of broth while catching up with friends and awaiting Saili’s hot pot masterpiece in Saili’s east Oakland backyard on July 15, 2021. (Anna Kenney, J110).

LEFT: Erica and Shakir curl up under blankets catch up with friends, and sway back and forth to music during a beachside birthday celebration for a friend at Alameda’s Crown Beach on July 16, 2021. Birthday attendees were excited to see each other and catch up, yet also noted that they were overall much more inclined to keep it mellow these days. (Anna Kenney, J110) CENTER: A’s baseball fans Tim Kopra and Gus W. rally for their in their first post-lockdown baseball game with a tailgate party on July 17, 2021 at the Oakland Coliseum- but not without a little hesitation and crowd anxiety lurking underneath. (Anna Kenney, J110) RIGHT: Susan Hoch takes a break from visiting family to jump in the pool and swim some laps in the Oakland hills on July 18, 2021. When weekly yoga classes came to a halt, Susan started using her sister’s pool in the hills for calming and socially-distanced exercise, and the habit stuck! (Anna Kenney, J110).

Above images: To get fresh air and a change of scenery, Anna Kenney found herself constantly taking the family dog, Hundi, out on explorations. As the world speeds up again, Anna still enjoys making time to go on wanders or runs with the ever restless and energetic pup. LEFT: Hundi catches a ball during a sunset hike at San Leandro’s Oyster Bay on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. (Anna Kenney, J110). CENTER: Anna Kenney practices portraiture on Hundi, while Hundi anxiously looks around for running jackrabbits at Oyster Bay on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. (Anna Kenney, J110). RIGHT: Hundi waits patiently and hopefully for owner Anna Kenney to throw her beloved ball at Oyster Bay on Wednesday, July 21, 2021. (Anna Kenney, J110).