10 Things to Cherish as Life Gets Back to ‘Normal’
PORTLAND — Looking back at “10 Types of People in Quarantine” makes me cringe. What did any of us know during the deer-in-headlight days of March 2020, scrambling to adjust?
Here is another possibly naive list — of super tiny and some larger feelings— to bottle in a vial and lodge somewhere in my brain, so some of this will stick and I can “stay awed.”
The Company of Strangers. The woman standing next to me in the bleachers at Providence Park said, “Hey, I like your shoes!”
We had the same sandals on. How often in the pandemic would there be a small coincidence like that, when a stranger would pull down their mask to engage me, another stranger? Oh, I can count… zero. And we were not wearing masks last night, either! I don’t know her name but we screamed and cheered together.
“What a difference,” Timbers’ coach Giovanni Savarese told the Oregonian after the 2–1 win over sporting Kansas City. “This place was electric, energetic, and the passion of the fans was transmitted to the players.”
Group Photos, not a Selfie. When the server offered her photo taking skills to us after witnessing a contorted attempt at a group selfie during a first outing, it was the sweetest thing. She was also dancing to the music. Her happiness was infectious. Support Deadshot!
Joys of Sing-a-longs. Though I have yet to join a sing-a-long in these ‘new times,’ one of the last I went to before the pandemic was in February 2020, hosted by Low Bar Chorale. There is nothing like the energy of people learning to sing the same song and then singing it together.
The Energy of Concerts. Live music was an amazing experience pre-pandemic, I can’t imagine how incredible Gogol Bordello will be at their Aug. 29th Crystal Ballroom show, part of their “Lifers” tour.
Group Fitness. If it weren’t for spin class, I would have never met neighborhood friends who’ve been part of my pandemic “posse.” Though slowly dipping my toes into returning to the gym (current state: thinking about going), I know I’ll be thankful once I get into the rhythm of it, again.
Sitting at a Bar. A Free House bartender said what he misses most is interacting with customers, particularly those who used to sit at the long bar across from him. This was last June during Portland’s “reopening” (quickly the city closed back up). At the time, plastic barriers encircled the bar, and the bartender could only interact with patrons through a mask and a space cut out of plastic at the register. The depressing setup reminded me of the bulletproof glass at a currency exchange or between driver and passener in a taxicab.
‘Returning to Friends’. Eating dinner at the permanently closed Aviary, in mid-March 2020, Heather asked, “When will things be back to normal?!” Heather later moved to Michigan to work remotely and be with her family. She’s now returned to Portland and we’ll reunite tonight at a summer solstice party. It’s felt like a mini miracle with each friend reunion.
What’s Next? In reviewing Suleika Jaouad’s memoir, “Between Two Kingdoms" in the New York Times book review, Chanel Miller likened the experience of a cancer survivor going back into the world with a ferocious desire to capture humanity, meet other survivors of various ailments and travel, to that of folks emerging from quarantine.
“We may be tempted to move on quickly, to fall into old routines. I am nervous that when everything is in motion, I will not be able to keep up,” Miller writes.
We will all have our ‘before’ and our ‘after’ and our ‘during’ stories. Our lessons, our personal takeaways.
Moving forward, will people pause in their frenzies to return and in that space be kinder to each other, more aware? Or will we all jump in and have magical crowd experiences and eventually the lessons of the pandemic and how we lived and worked during it will fade?
Will we all get back into a bar together and stare at our phones, separately? Go back to our cubes only to chat with each other on Teams?
How can we appreciate and learn from these precious “reentry” moments and experiences?
This post will be revised, updated later. Like my thoughts, it’s jumbled.
