A new world

What are you going to do when this whole pandemic thing is over? It’s a question I often hear from people I know, and something I’m pondering, as I see positive news about local progress on vaccinations given to residents and news of the province’s latest reopening plan.

The answer I’ve come up with for this question is two-fold. The first, is focusing on seeing and having as many experiences as possible, as soon as it is safe to do so of course.

During this pandemic, what we’ve been able to do has been limited. Mostly, my life, recently, has consisted of working from home, buying essential items at grocery stores, taking walks around my neighbourhood, and watching a lot of Netflix and television. I think when things safely and fully open up, it will be a great time to start checking experiences off the bucket list.

This COVID-19 pandemic has proven two things to be true. The first is, the way we live our lives can be changed in an instant by something like a new illness. The second is, life really is short, especially noting how many people have died from COVID-19 to date. For both of these reasons, we should not take for granted the opportunities we have, once the pandemic is declared over.

The second part of my answer is, upon evaluating pandemic life or lessons I gained during the pandemic, I will decide what parts are of value to carry over into my post-pandemic life. Since my employer has been very supportive during Covid, one of the questions I will ask myself is; will I continue to work from home, and if so, how many days of the workweek will I work from home?

Also, will I continue to incorporate distancing during conversations with others in public?

I hope to continue to highlight the important work frontline workers have done, in The Standard’s communities, during the pandemic, and will continue to do post-pandemic.

As we remain in a stay at home order, and the health and provincial officials are noting light at the end of this long tunnel, it is a great time to daydream about our post-pandemic plans. Stay safe everyone!