Tri-Valley Writers will start in-person meetings in September. This is splendid news, but my internal editor is whining that I haven’t explored this existence deeply enough, so what makes me think I’m ready to return to life as we knew it? I thought my increased journaling would be enough to document how these last months have changed my routines. In re-reading my entries, however, I discovered that my way of coping with all the changes was to redefine what normal meant. Toilet paper shortage? Use less, find another store, search the internet. Can’t go to meetings? Learn Zoom, call people more, practice writing more precise emails. No clear understanding of what the virus is doing? Log in daily to the county COVID website, learn how long 20 seconds really is when washing hands, join the army of mask-makers. After a few weeks with each new adaptation, my journal showed that I relaxed into whatever the next routine became.
Perhaps the real surprises will come when I write about what I miss from the lockdown. I have already decided to continue wearing a mask outdoors, because over the years I have had three suspicious spots removed from my face. If the sun can’t get through, it can’t harm my skin cells. It is very likely I will miss Zooming, because I sure haven’t missed driving. I’m not much of a make-up person, but I was forced to wear more when appearing on camera. Zoom meetings let me use lipstick that is too bright to wear in person but looks fabulous on-screen. Who knows what else I’ll regret letting go when life returns, if only in part, to what it was?