Like most people, I’m becoming acquainted with Zoom, the free online meeting app. I haven’t yet used it professionally; I’ve just been chatting with friends. Seeing them at home is strangely reassuring. Our worlds have been altered dramatically, but at least my friends’ kitchens and living rooms look the same.
During a virtual lunch, I asked two friends how they thought we would be different after our COVID-19 isolation. Both said people would be happier when they returned to work and school, and that we’d be healthier from taking so, so many walks.
Carol said she’d be glad to see fully-stocked grocery shelves again. But she also thinks that society may have learned a valuable lesson — that shopping isn’t the answer to all our problems.
Ellen reflected that we might feel different about gathering in large groups. After so much time spent sanitizing everything, will we be able to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with strangers at football games or movie theaters?
We won’t know how we’ll respond until we get there, but I think we’d all agree that a post-pandemic world will look different. Even if no one we love got sick, we imagined what that would be like, and it wasn’t fun. And even if we didn’t lose our jobs, we worried about our retirement savings and whether our favorite taco shop would reopen. Those of us who stayed ‘safer at home’ had plenty of time for those stressors to recalibrate our priorities.
Here are a few predictions:
We’ll be nicer on social media. How many times in the past three weeks have I seen (or made) the online comment, “This was the best part of my day”? Many times. And it’s never a reaction to a political jab. It’s a joyous response to a family performing a COVID-19 version of “One Day More,” or a tearful reaction to a man singing to his wife through the window of an assisted living facility. The web has gotten sweeter and more engaging, and I hope it stays this way.
We’ll recognize the importance of experts. I’m extremely thankful to Dr. Martha Buchanan, director of the Knox County Health Department, and her staff. They have spent years preparing for a pandemic, while most of us have spent exactly zero minutes considering such a thing. I’m grateful to smart people whose hard work keeps us safer. And I’m offended by the opinions of arrogant non-experts.
We’ll have a new appreciation for the art of cooking. We love eating out; there’s no denying it. But if we’re stuck at home, the first thing we do is whip up a tasty treat. This has reminded us that fixing food can be as fun as eating it. Will we flock to our favorite restaurants as soon as they reopen? Of course. But we’ll remember that we can do for ourselves, in a pinch.
We’ll understand the concept of saving for a rainy day. Our parents told us to save 10 percent, and did we listen? Of course not. But after COVID-19, a six-month emergency fund will be sexier than a sports car. At least that’s what I’m telling my kids.
We’ll appreciate each day. Every day is a gift, whether there’s a pandemic or not. When life returns to normal, if it ever does, I hope we don’t lose sight of that.
Town of Farragut public relations and marketing coordinator Wendy Smith is your reliable Farragut Insider.