I know things have been quiet around here lately, and to be completely candid, I’ve found the last few weeks rather difficult as the weather has warmed up and it started to feel like anything but a normal summer. While I’ve pretty much gotten into a steady work from home routine, my days tend to all look the same now. I work for a bit in the morning, take a 3-mile walk at lunch, work a bit more in the afternoon, and then head to the beach for an evening walk pretty much every day. If the weather isn’t great in the evening, I’ll do an at-home workout before winding down. But I haven’t felt super motivated to do much in the way of blogging. In the beginning, I felt guilty about it, but now, I’ve decided to cut myself some slack and post when I have something to say or feel inspired.
I’ve had a lot of ups and downs during the pandemic, as I’m sure most of you can relate. There have been days where it has been nice just to be quiet and enjoy time in nature, and then there have been days where all I want to do is take a trip somewhere…anywhere. Lately, my “treat” has been going out for an iced coffee at Southdown Coffee or grabbing breakfast curbside from Kerber’s Farm.
After three months of being at home, I’ve certainly learned how to embrace the quiet moments and have gotten even more comfortable with myself. But as Long Island begins to reopen, the one thing I didn’t anticipate having to do was get reacquainted with the outside world. I figured by the time we emerged from this lockdown, I would be thrilled, no elated, to finally be able to leave my house, go back to my office, and see people again. However, the initial anxiety I felt when we first started this lockdown has returned. I was extremely cautious about not seeing people these last few months. The only exceptions have been to bring groceries to my grandmother (where I wear a mask the entire time I’m in her presence), and to meet a friend (who practically quarantined herself as I did) for a few socially distant hikes. Sure, I’ve been out to the grocery store, to take a hike, and to soak up some sun at the beach, but the idea of going back to work and being around people again feels so foreign to me.
Moving forward, I anticipate we will be living a new kind of normal for the foreseeable future. So far, my summer plans are still up in the air and the international trips I had scheduled for the fall have been canceled. For now, I think getting back to a new normal will be a day-by-day process and we are each going to have to go at our own pace. For me, I will continue to take precautions as Long Island reopens and I will work on embracing a new routine when the time comes.
How are you approaching your state reopening?
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