Current Affairs: How Long Before We All Forget "Normal" Life?

After a good bit of shuffling around, we ended up inviting some friends we haven't seen in several months to come to dinner next week.

We used to see them quite regularly — sometimes twice a week — back in the days before Covid and lockdowns and other things that seem to have become a "fact of life."

I got to thinking about going somewhere to see people; getting on a plane and flying to another city for a weekend getaway; holidays travel for family get-togethers.

I realized that I am already beginning to forget what "normal life" felt like; what it feels like to simply up and go to do something with someone, without having to take extra precautions and make special preparations. And even then, still running the risk that things might not turn out as expected.

It has only been slightly under two years, and I am starting to forget.

Someone into conspiracy theory might fabricate an argument that that is precisely what "they" want to happen.

I've never been particularly convinced that there even is a "they" anywhere... most of what we do as a species tends to be the result of avarice, greed, the hunger for power and such things... on a far more individual level, rather than on some "grand evil scheme" level.

Let's face it, humanity has been able to screw up pretty much everything since the beginning of time, so the idea that some mysterious "they" are suddenly able to execute a plan for "world domination" without screwing it up royally seems pretty far fetched to me.

But I tend to be a bit cynical!

Perhaps the deeper question here is what I miss about this thing I call "normal life?" Ultimately, it's not that much! The thing is, both my wife and myself are introverts who largely keep to ourselves even in "normal" times...

I miss farmer's market. Actually, our farmers market is still going on, but it's on a reduced scale with much fewer vendors. There are a couple of restaurants I miss... I miss getting to go from them, because we seldom ate in, in the first place! But they are permanently closed now. I miss going to arts and crafts shows, as a vendor with my artwork... that's something we just don't see anymore.

But on the whole, these are somewhat "small" things.

Mostly, though, I just miss life without all the extra preparations and the collective germophobia!

Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about YOU? Do you miss "normal" life? Do you REMEMBER normal life? What do you miss the most? Do you think we'll ever go back to the way things were, or something close to it? Do leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 20210929 23:48 PDT
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