I read a couple of things recently that got me to thinking about the metaphors one might use relative to the pandemic and mental health, and what is hopefully its turning point.
We're dealing with the third straight day of cold and gray weather, which is exceptionally rare around here. It's no secret that I'm seriously impacted by Seasonal Affective Disorder, and it was a major factor in moving to Central Florida. I'm tired, low energy and it feeds into a feeling that I've had a lot in recent months. (Allergy meds are making this worse.) Maybe I can just sleep a bit longer, until I have both shots, and there's more of a sense of normalcy. I'm not sure what that even means, but it probably means Simon seeing his grandparents, having people inside of our house, open cruise lines, TV news anchors not sitting 10 feet apart, etc. It's not far away. Mentally, wondering when we would see it comes with a certain exhaustion, but now I equate it a little to what flying is like for me. It's not really comfortable or enjoyable, but there's usually something fun after the flight, so if you can just turn your brain off for a little bit, you'll get there.
Then I was thinking about what it will be like when we do stuff that we couldn't do for the last year. Will it be intoxicating, like the rush of a first kiss? I think about seeing friends from out-of-town, meeting up with them at a resort for drinks, or boarding a ship, or even going to an otherwise boring kid birthday party. We'll have all of these "first times" that are really just first times in a long time, and that's kind of exciting. I'd like to think that I have been reasonably appreciative of life's seemingly unremarkable moments, but I predict new levels of appreciation going forward for the most mundane of activities.
And if I'm being really honest, the last year has been difficult, but working remotely in the first place in a great job, being able to afford delivery of things and essentially private rentals on the beach for vacations, we haven't had the worst by any measure. We're weeks away from getting to full vaccination without any of us getting sick, or worse, losing friends, family or coworkers to the disease, as many of our friends have. While all of this is true, we're definitely ready to get beyond the long naps and look forward to the first kisses.
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