Scale of one to ten.....

[gimmethesimplelife]

How "normal" is your life today in terms of how similar it was before the pandemic began? Put me down for 6. You? Rob

[Yppej]

It depends where you live. I would say 5. Even as restrictions start to go away there are supply and labor shortages, and the huge deficits will be with us as long as I live.

[Rogar]

I'd probably go with a 7. I've never been much for dining out, luxury travel, or large gatherings so similar on those fronts. Plus it looks like things are trying to get back to normal.

[ToomuchStuff]

Which end is normal, which end is abnormal?
Working a butt load of hours, went up during the pandemic, after only going down SLIGHTLY in 2019 from 2018, when an owner was out for yet another surgery and I was averaging 80 hours a week.

[razz]

Even with most restrictions still in place, I am a 6 and have been all along. Few family visits, no live theatre and no impromptu dinners. I still walk my dog 5km/day, visit with family/friends online or phone or meet on the walks, do a lot more online activities that were not available before and I will continue going forward.

I find that people have changed for the better with recognition of the importance of regular social interaction which they hope to continue doing.

[catherine]

I'd say 8. We never did a lot of going out anyway, and now the only thing is, 75% of the business are not requiring masks, so it gives a greater feeling of normalcy.

[iris lilies]

I'd probably go with a 7. I've never been much for dining out, luxury travel, or large gatherings so similar on those fronts. Plus it looks like things are trying to get back to normal.
7 for me.

Withhin a two week period I will have attended a luncheon, two in-person meetings, and a 2 day workshop held inside. That is a lot of “back to normal” but my garden club ladies and plant societies still are not meeting in person which is fine with me.

[Gardnr]

9 and I'm assuming 10 means "the same as before". The only "things" missing from pre-covid are my 2 monthly quilting group gatherings that were 1 hour each.

[happystuff]

I would have to go down to probably about 2. My "normal" has changed dramatically and I'm STILL trying to adjust to it. No matter how much things "open up", etc. I'm still left dealing with a new normal. But, as with all things, given time - I will eventually adjust.

But, again, put me down for a 2.

[pinkytoe]

Maybe a 4 as I no longer know what normal will mean going into the future.

[LDAHL]

Probably about 7-8. The main difference being my kids remote schooling.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Maybe 5 as i'm still working at home much of the time. Since work is much of life ... But see that's not a normal I really WANT to return to, the office 5 days a week - that normal sucks. Being all that happened in the last year in truth I'm too psychologically scarred to just go back to 2019 anyway, it's not really possible. They don't talk about that do they, that living through the last year changes one. But some semblance of life returns, i eat at restaurants, i don't have to keep 6 feet away from people etc.. Masks are required here for a few more weeks.

[Alan]

I think I'm at 10. Having been retired now for a few years this past year didn't have much abnormal effect on me. Yeah, I had to wear a mask in the grocery store and had to wait longer for a table at Cracker Barrell while roaming the country last summer but those were minor inconveniences. I've never been much bothered by anxiety or depression so it's not like I now have an opportunity to emerge from dark places, so I guess my 'normal' has never changed.

[razz]

Reading some of the responses it struck me that it depended on one's interests and priorities being met.

Some love international travel, others stay local; some love recreational shopping, some are happy with Amazon; some love fine dining, some prefer homemade or takeout; some, like me, love live theatre, some love TV; some live close to family and have a social bubble, some live far from those dear; some have satisfying work or able to work from home, some seeking employment; and so on.

Still interesting to see the viewpoints.

[Teacher Terry]

A 9 for me. The only thing missing now is international travel and festivals. The festivals are coming back this summer.

[JaneV2.0]

At least 9, maybe 10--it's hard to tell, because being without a car has probably had more of an impact than COVID did.

[KayLR]

I'm gonna go with 6.

[Tradd]

Different, but much better job. Working in an office now. Still diving and traveling by car throughout the Great Lakes region.

Very little has changed for me. Life much as it was pre-plague.

I’d say a 9.

[ApatheticNoMore]

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/post-pandemic-dont-want-to-reenter-society/619045/

haha, excellent. It can be called depression with some justice, or it could be called acedia. having made it through a book called "The Sixth Battle of Acedia: Meaninglessness - a Mid-Life Opportunity" during the pandemic.

[Alan]

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/05/post-pandemic-dont-want-to-reenter-society/619045/

I read that article yesterday and was considering using it in a reply to another thread. You beat me to it! :D

[rosarugosa]

Happystuff: Is your number so low because of your new job?
Pinkytoe: I'm guessing your number is low because DH won't get the vaccine?

I was going to say 9, but maybe 8 is more realistic. I'm still wearing masks into stores, and although that doesn't faze me, it certainly isn't something I did pre-Covid. Social gatherings are less common, but that's pretty OK with me. Library will open for in-person visits on 6/7, so not quite normal there yet. No plays or concerts on the near horizon, so that's really what made me decide to go with 8 rather than 9. We had concert tickets for 3/2020, and the date got pushed up again and again, and now it's on for 10/2021, and I think it will actually happen. I'm really really REALLY hoping for carpentry classes to resume this fall.

[razz]

Happystuff: Is your number so low because of your new job?
Pinkytoe: I'm guessing your number is low because DH won't get the vaccine?

I was going to say 9, but maybe 8 is more realistic. I'm still wearing masks into stores, and although that doesn't faze me, it certainly isn't something I did pre-Covid. Social gatherings are less common, but that's pretty OK with me. Library will open for in-person visits on 6/7, so not quite normal there yet. No plays or concerts on the near horizon, so that's really what made me decide to go with 8 rather than 9. We had concert tickets for 3/2020, and the date got pushed up again and again, and now it's on for 10/2021, and I think it will actually happen. I'm really really REALLY hoping for carpentry classes to resume this fall.

That is my experience as well. Metopera is postponed but only until this fall, Shaw Festival is very limited and may be postponed since the actors cannot gather to rehearse, Stratford Festival in the same situation. I signed an online petition this morning appealing the restrictions on rehearsals and such limitations in Ontario.

[happystuff]

Yes. The old job was my "normal" for 16 years, so losing it due to covid means that "normal" is gone forever. The new job is so different in so many ways and has had life changing effects that I'm still working out. So covid or not, I am still working on a new normal.

2 it is.

[jp1]

On a daily basis I’d say 8 or 9. I still wear a mask everywhere and haven’t been on a plane yet. But beyond that things are pretty normal. Everyone I know is vaccinated. We went to an indoor party. We’ve done indoor dining. My sister was just here to visit. I even took transit for the first time a few weeks ago when I had to take my car to the shop.

[pinkytoe]

Yes, my normal will be slow to return as DH won't get vaccinated. It will make everything harder to figure out that we might do as a couple in the outside world.

[iris lilies]

Yes, my normal will be slow to return as DH won't get vaccinated. It will make everything harder to figure out that we might do as a couple in the outside world.
My DH is not vaccinated either.

I just remind him that he has to wear The Mask in places where it is required, he has to remind people (friends) he is not vaccinated for indoor socializing, and we get on with life. I am not finding it to be a big life limitation.

[SteveinMN]

Probably an 8 here as well.

We are now on a pretty regular schedule with our kids and grandkids. A few weeks ago we hosted a get-together of college friends we hadn't seen in person since before lockdown in honor of another college friend visiting from out of state but we're all old enough to have been vaccinated or to be able to lie convincingly about having been.

This past weekend we attended a dance for the first time in 14-15 months. I don't recall anyone wearing a mask though members of that group are either old enough to have sought out the vaccine early or are too loyal to ever get it. The only concession to the pandemic besides a cheery "Masks optional!" on the invitation was that treats were individually wrapped. That's hygiene theater but we're going to see a lot of that moving forward, I believe.

We're still wearing masks indoors in public since restrictions have not been done away with completely. It's new and a bit unsettling to see people just walk into stores without masks on after a year of seeing them pretty much everywhere. I haven't ordered groceries for pickup in weeks. Shopping is less of a rescue mission than it used to be (go to a non-busy store, quickly choose the items I need, pay, leave). I still will pick up an item wherever I am, though, rather than make a separate stop to buy the variety or brand I really want; I'm not sure if that will go away because it saves time for me and miles on the car.

Several stores still have spots marking six foot intervals and one-way indicators on aisles. My regular drug store is still takeout/delivery only. I don't think the plastic barriers that went up around cash registers all over will ever come down. On the other hand, I don't think order pickup at almost every store will ever go away either, and I'm pleased that so many companies have beefed up their Web sites and inventory management that they can tell you exactly which products are in a particular store so you don't waste your time going there and hoping.

And re-entry has proved to be a good opportunity to retreat from some obligations that I just didn't care for much. It's the old decluttering rule: if I didn't need it in a year, do I need it in my life at all? It's become more acceptable socially to attend to one's own mental health, even if that means forgoing an occasion because the week has been too busy. It's okay now to offer a more accurate portrayal of your life than "Good! Good! Everything's good!"

It's taken a little time to get over the "you had a whole year to do <fill-in-the-blank> and you didn't" but it's not like we knew from the outset we would have a year; the time was parceled out in four- and six-week intervals, which made it harder to do longer-term planning. Among the pandemic, local social unrest, and having to deal with mental illness in high political offices, sometimes just getting through the day was enough. Reading the classics or landscaping the yard could wait for another day. Now we can think about doing things differently.

[iris lilies]

Steve, that is an interesting observation about treating events and obligations with the one year rule: If you didn’t miss it or need it within the past year, you probably don’t need to do the event/obligation now.


My many garden clubs are concerned about that, as they were already dying organizations. Some of them have been active virtually, some not at all. Some with an in person outdoorEvent or two over the past year.


I think we will see an element of people rushing to want to socialize due to pent-up demand. I also think we will see an element of what you talk about, people dropping out of activities because they were lukewarm about them to begin with and now find they did not miss the acrivities.

[oldhat]

5, maybe 6. Still working from home full time and hating it, although even if my office were to reopen I likely would not return yet. (Since I'm hoping to retire soon, I may never return.)

No longer conducting a risk/benefit analysis every time I go to the store, and I have gone out just to pick up single items. Last week went to the public library just to browse instead of using pickup.

Last week had lunch outdoors with a friend whom I hadn't seen since the before the pandemic. First face-to-face social contact since last October, when I helped some friends move.

Still wary of returning to the gym. Exercise continues to be outdoor walking.

Still masking (actually double masking, which is no more trouble) whenever indoors. Probably unnecessary since I've been fully vaxxed, but a minor inconvenience.

Catching up on some medical testing that I'd put off for a few months. This includes getting treatment for a severe depression, a problem which has been building for a number of months.

[Teacher Terry]

Stores here have signs up that if you are vaccinated no masks needed so very few people are wearing them.

[iris lilies]

Stores here have signs up that if you are vaccinated no masks needed so very few people are wearing them.
In the city, masks seem to be required most all indoor places. Certainly the grocery store and two restaurants I’ve been to ask patrons to mask up.

in Hermann, not so much.

[pinkytoe]

The sign at our little Safeway said "masks are appreciated if you are unvaccinated." The limitations with DH not being unvaccinated are primarily with my family and a reunion that is planned for July. One brother already "postponed" a visit to our house due to DH's visit and we had always looked forward to visiting them every summer. Also, DH will still have to meet with his elderly mother outside. And then being a worrier, I worry that he will catch it and get very sick even though it is not likely. Re rejoining clubs. I am still on the fence with garden club since it seems that all we ever do is maintain, ie weed public gardens. I have enough of that to do at home but I do kind of like being with other plant people. I will restate my new normal at 6-7.

[rosarugosa]

5, maybe 6. Still working from home full time and hating it, although even if my office were to reopen I likely would not return yet. (Since I'm hoping to retire soon, I may never return.)

No longer conducting a risk/benefit analysis every time I go to the store, and I have gone out just to pick up single items. Last week went to the public library just to browse instead of using pickup.

Last week had lunch outdoors with a friend whom I hadn't seen since the before the pandemic. First face-to-face social contact since last October, when I helped some friends move.

Still wary of returning to the gym. Exercise continues to be outdoor walking.

Still masking (actually double masking, which is no more trouble) whenever indoors. Probably unnecessary since I've been fully vaxxed, but a minor inconvenience.

Catching up on some medical testing that I'd put off for a few months. This includes getting treatment for a severe depression, a problem which has been building for a number of months.

I think the Covid restrictions have been especially tough for people with depression. Good for you for getting treatment.

[jp1]

The one thing we haven’t got back to normal with is traveling out of state. SO wants to go to Chicago in July for a few days. His employer has opened a fancy new hotel on a pier or something and we can get the ‘hr director for other hr directors’ special rate and he has credits on delta from trips cancelled last spring. I’d like to go back to Hawaii but we’ll probably hold off until next year and hope that prices for plane tix and rental cars come back down to normal.

SO’s bowling league started up again a month ago so he has been doing that again. I’m glad because it gives me an evening every week to putter around in the garage working on minor projects for the house.

[frugal-one]

Mask mandate here is done as of tomorrow.