The positives of pandemic living

by Pete Mazzaccaro
Posted 5/20/21

 I have been struck by two competing realities this month as all signs point to the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

First, this past year has seemed like an age. I recall those first weeks …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

The positives of pandemic living

Posted

I have been struck by two competing realities this month as all signs point to the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

First, this past year has seemed like an age. I recall those first weeks in March 2020 when stay-at-home orders were first issued and a trip to the grocery store took the same amount of care and planning as a mission to Mars. Streets were nearly empty. When you saw people they were often in masks and plastic gloves. I’m eager to be able to return to a time when we can again leave the home without caution.

The second is that as long as the pandemic has been with us and as exhausting as that might have been, it’s become oddly comfortable. Sure there are things I miss – friend and family gatherings, live music and sports in particular. But as the restrictions melt away through an ever increasingly positive reality fueled by vaccines and developing science that has found outdoor transmission of the virus is remarkably rare, I’m not sure I’m entirely ready for the change.

Don’t get me wrong: There has been a lot that was awful about the last year. We likely all know friends and family members who were lost to the Covid. Kids, who I continue to think bore the real brunt the pandemic, lost entire years of their lives for which there is no easy replacement. There are proms, senior sporting seasons that never happened. And an enormous amount of learning for which those who needed to learn remotely will likely struggle to overcome for the rest of their academic career.

Perhaps this won’t be a popular opinion, but I have talked to others who have expressed the same appreciation for a positive aspect of the pandemic. The opportunity for some of us to slow down.

For me, a dad of two teenagers involved in sports, extracurriculars and no small amount of school activities, a year-long pause in which I wasn’t operating as an unpaid Uber driver every other night, was a nice change of pace. The same could be said for my own work and social responsibilities. Not needing to leave the house for a board or volunteer meeting is a nice innovation that I suspect will stick with us.

As exhausting as the past year was for so many reasons – both pandemic and political – there was something to be said for not filling our calendars with endless obligations, staying home with family and just slowing down.

As the pandemic ends, and we look to return to normal, I hope there are some things we might be able to say we learned along the way. As eager as I am to get back to normal, there are a few habits I’ve picked up in the last 14 months that I’d like to keep.