- Browsing library stacks for books to check out
- Smiling at friends and strangers, and having them see my smile, not just feel it or assume it's hiding behind the mask
- (I can't believe I'm saying that as it's not something I enjoyed prior to lockdown.) Going grocery shopping and actually being able to purchase everything that is needed for weekly dinners without experiencing a food shortage
- Experiencing long-awaited pre-wedding memories and attending planning sessions with vendors
- Not having to worry about whether all of our wedding guests can safely attend our wedding on the date we've secured
- Dining at our favorite Rhode Island restaurants, maybe even with people that don't reside within our home
- Getting a manicure & pedicure and a haircut at my favorite salons
- Staying home because I want to, not because it's required
- Celebrating birthdays, impending births, and other special events properly
- Hiring a babysitter to allow for a date night with my main (and only) squeeze
- Having the option to use a public restroom, if needed
- Enjoying an evening at a restaurant, bar, brewery, movie theater, etc
- Bringing the girls to the park for them to release some energy
- Sleeping restfully
- Picking tulips and other fun springtime activities
- Having the freedom to do what I want when I want to do it
- Taking a nap on the couch with Mona before the girls return home on the school bus
- Making school lunches that actually see the inside of an educational institution
- Watching Saturday Night Live and having it actually be live
- ...and so much more...
You may say that many of these seem trivial and are a luxury, and you're right; they are. My life will not end if these things don't resume soon or at all, but my life as I know it might.
All of the above are relatively insignificant. In the grand scheme of things, they don't matter that much. I mean, how much joy can "having the option to use a public restroom" bring a person?
I can do quarantine; turns out I'm not great at it, but I can do it. I've been doing it for over six weeks now, but I don't have to like it. I miss the way I've lived for the past 39 years. I miss having options and opportunities. I miss being spontaneous. I miss being part of a community and all that that entails.
Hopefully the end of quarantine is near, but - more than that - hopefully once this whole mess is behind us, the world is recognizable. I understand that we can't just jump back into it, but I'm not sure how long these restriction rollback phases will take.
I don't know how much more I can take of this. I'm not sure how much you can take of this, do you?
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