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.