Happy Tuesday, friends. Here we are in week 11 of this strange restricted life, and the world is turning toward summer. I ran this morning by the water, through haze and humidity and (eventual) bright sunshine. The beach roses are blowing and the purple iris are budding, and I’m wearing my favorite denim shorts and growing herb seedlings in my kitchen window (until I can get some soil to pot them).
We are deep into whatever kind of “now normal” we are all creating for ourselves, and while there’s beauty and joy in that, today I wanted to acknowledge: I miss how it used to be.
Here in Massachusetts, we’re moving slowly into a phased reopening, but masks and social distancing and other restrictions will be part of our lives for a long while. There are some parts of “normal” we simply won’t get back, at least not for the foreseeable future. And that hurts. So, in no particular order, here is a list of things I miss:
- Hugging my friends.
- Browsing my favorite bookstores.
- The library, especially the central BPL branch near my office.
- Hanging out at coffee shops.
- Making travel plans, which are all obviously on hold at the moment.
- Running to the grocery store to grab “just one thing.”
- Walking outside without a mask.
- My family in Texas (the Zoom calls are fun, but not the same).
- Going to friends’ houses for dinner or just to hang out.
- By the same token: having people over to my house.
- My colleagues, and the musical chitchat that passes for water-cooler talk at Berklee.
- Sitting in on workshops and talking to our students.
- The buzz of commencement season in Boston and Cambridge.
- Going to yoga classes in a real studio.
- Going to book events at a bookstore.
- Walking to Downeast with my guy on a Saturday night to sample ciders and talk to the folks behind the counter.
- Planning for summer festivals and concerts.
- Going to the hair salon (they’re starting to reopen, but I’m going to wait a while).
- My florist.
- Waking up without the constant low-level (or higher-level) pandemic anxiety.
What do you miss?
cakes, tea and dreams 
I miss my dad who broke his hip in 3/19, went to rehab, contacted Covid, and passed. He, like all the others, was everything to us. An artist, a jazz musician, family man… my lodestar. 8/25-5/20 RIP dad…
Oh, I am so sorry for your loss, Mary.
I miss my family and friends, we haven’t seen them since this began and although they’re starting to lift restrictions, we’re still limited in how far we can travel, and how many people we can meet. I miss libraries, they’re such a valuable resource in the community. I miss bookshops. I miss my yoga classes, my instructor does online classes but it’s not the same. I also miss all the cancelled plans we had, for birthday parties, weddings and other events we were looking forward to that have all been cancelled. Take care. X
Yes. I miss all those things too. x
I (and my kids) miss our homeschool co-op, and all of our friends there. We miss the library hugely–especially as we look at a summer without all the summer programs they do there. We miss the beach (I live in FL–the beaches are open, but despite assurances from the government that people will be required to distance, I’ve seen the photos and heard stories from friends, and no way are we going into those crowds). I miss going to Target/the mall/thrift stores when my kids go up a size (or more!) and need new shoes/clothes–online shopping is OK, but not being able to try on first makes it hard. I miss being able to grocery shop without wondering if I’m going to be given a hard time for wearing a mask. I miss being able to go in to my husband’s cardiology appointments with him–I’ve been there for every appointment for five years and now I’m relegated to waiting in the car (I still go for moral support) while he texts me updates. I miss my family–just a couple hours away, but my parents are older and my husband is high-risk, so we can’t chance any visits right now.
On the other hand, I don’t miss the frantic feeling of wondering if I’ve missed/forgotten something, trying to get everyone out the door for the next thing, putting things off because “I don’t have time right now.” It’s taken me every bit of this time (and we’re on week 11 of our stay-at-home time as well) to truly let that go and mostly accept this slower pace.
It is hard, isn’t it? Both accepting the new normal and missing all the good things (and important things) from before.
I miss visiting with people in the flesh (who don’t live with me). My new normal includes physically delving into our New England Spring like never before. Otherwise, it’s hard to define, let alone articulate, yet. It mostly seems I am just waiting..
I hear you on all that!
Beautiful image of the roses and the sea in the background.🌹 What a great list. I miss all of the same things, especially travel. I’m very disappointed I can’t visit my mom in Cincinnati this summer. Ireland is only in phase 2 of 5. Dance studios won’t reopen until mid-August at the earliest so I’ll have to keep teaching virtual classes until then. I miss being in the same space as my students. My partner works at music festivals, all of which have been canceled. I miss going to the cinema and all of the small things we took for granted.