As we are all slowly starting to reenter society, there comes some excitement to get back out there and running and a need to take things slow at the same time. We have been home for a year + now and have been looking forward to this vaccine that will “fix everything” since the word quarantine became a verb and a way of life, but is one shot really able to fix everything? Beyond the superficial adjustments like finding pants that fit and getting blisters from shoes we haven’t worn in a really really long time, can we just wake up, walk out our door like business as usual? In the wake of this pandemic, many of us are home because of a lack of employment, or those who are called lucky, are in a job that would not have been their first choice but every corner of the world was impacted making the workforce shrink like never before. After a year of clicking adding to our cart on our phones and laptops, once we walk back into the world stores that were once there are gone. This time at home made me reevaluate what I bring into my home and I got rid of a lot of clutter. My work clothes are packed away and I’ve been wearing comfy cute clothes for months. For me, I’ll have to remember how to socialize with people again and rebuild old friendships that got put on the sidelines and create new ones in a world where all of us are desperate for some social interaction. I took for granted how much enjoyment I got to grab a coffee with a friend or catch up over dinner when I could but made excuses because of work or focusing on my career. While I am like most people excited to go outside and breathe in that fresh summer air without a mask without fear, I know it will take some time for me to get used to our new normal. The truth is things will never go back to normal after one crazy year that took a lot from us – some more than others. It took some work, but I changed my mindset to enjoy being home all day and not dread it. The world outside my door will take some getting used to, but I want to continue making my home a safe place to be. My heart goes out to everyone who are getting ready to adjust to this new world. Right now I am taking advantage of the warm days to walk to the Starbucks a few blocks from our house to treat myself after making my own coffee for the last year!

I have some cool things planned in the next few weeks and months now that we are vaccinated. (YAY!) My parents are planning a trip up North to spend some time with us and a few days seeing friends in New Jersey. Since we had so much fun with my cousins at my parents house last summer, we just finalized plans to spend a few weeks at their house with everybody in June. I’m trying to create some fun things to look forward to to help me get over the “re-entering society anxiety” I have been having recently. I do know for a fact, that I will never be able to get anywhere on time ever again because I’ve lost all concept of how much time it takes to get ready before leaving the house ha!