No, life has not returned to normal

#Middlebury #Seniors

A recent survey concluded that we seniors are ready to go back out into the world, to resume our former pre-COVID activities. I suspect the poll questions weren’t asked of seniors in my part of New England. We are not, for the most part, ready to get back to what we were doing before.

We learned to talk to family and friends on internet conferences and managed the software quite well. We explored new hobbies with materials that arrived by mail since we weren’t going into stores. We mastered complicated recipes (with ingredients picked up curbside at the grocery), and we renewed our interest in chess and other games, playing online. We explored parts of our state we hadn’t seen before because we could safely drive around – as long as we didn’t get out of the car.

Our senior center is still holding the men’s Monday lunch in the parking lot, socially distanced, of course. The French language class still isn’t meeting because it didn’t work out well trying to hear and speak French while spaced out across the parking lot with cars going by. The art classes are still done remotely because it’s difficult to do watercolor painting outside with the breeze blowing, and no one is ready to go inside the building.

A few fast phone calls revealed that, no, the American Legion hall still isn’t open. The auto dealership is trying to restrict potential buyers to test driving only three cars because each one has to be sanitized after customers take one out for a spin. The deli on Main Street is still taking orders only at the front window and doesn’t know when it will open for indoor eating.

If a poll were done here, I suspect it would conclude that, no, we’re not ready to come out yet.

Editor’s note: The Middlebury Senior Center classes/meetings are being held inside with social distancing.

© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.