Define Normal..

We shouldn’t want things to go back to “normal.”

That’s what my pastor says.

As this so-called pandemic rages on, or at least the lock downs in the state of Minnesota do, people, including me, often wish life would snap back to January 2020, when the bars were full and our lives were plugging along as usual.

Normal, of course, is relative. It means something different to each person. I believe what normal really encapsulates is the essence of being comfortable. Of being free. Sure, we, including me with my cancer, had a difficult 2020. But in America, at least, we don’t take too kindly to being told what to do – particularly if it infringes on our right to, well, basically what we’ve always been able to do. Go to work. Go out for a nice dinner and beverage. Take our kids to the zoo or a movie.

Sitting down, slowing down, has never been our forte.

But stepping back for a minute, I have to admit it’s been kind of nice.

Sure, the large wedding of a cousin and his fiancé I was excited to attend in June was pared down to members of the immediate family only, which didn’t include mine. My family of four spent Thanksgiving without grandparents or siblings. Indeed, I missed my annual lunch and shopping date with my mom and daughter in early December as well as my yearly girlfriend Christmas meal at our favorite fancy restaurant.

Yes, I’ve been starving for live theater and school being taught on-site and meat raffles being conducted in my local VFW (hey, I’m from Minnesota, after all).

However…

My family and I learned a new board game together. We started having weekly meals with our neighbors across the street. With a pared-down baseball season and our beloved hockey being pushed back for months, my husband and I watched more new TV shows and movies together.  

As a bonus, I’ve never read as many books as I did last year.

And our two pups – well, they’ve never had quite this much couch time.

Me, my husband, and kids are social people. We’re all looking forward to gathering at venues outside of the house as soon as possible.

But I will not go back to what I thought of as normal. I will hold close to my heart and never give up the newfound intimacy I’ve discovered with my family.