Signs of The Rona Times

I feel like I'm living in several different realities.

A few minutes ago, I saw an ad for a local furniture store which is part of a chain.  The last time I saw one of their ads, New York (the state of New York - I don't live in New York City) was still shut down and the store was closed.  Their ad was along the lines of "we look forward to being back".

Now, we are almost a week into the Phase One reopening.  We can't go into furniture stores but they can deliver stock to us.   The ad - you wouldn't have known anything was changed except for the offer of "fast, safe and no touch delivery".  So, how does a furniture store do no touch delivery?  Do they levitate the furniture into your house?  I can't help thinking about silly things like that.

If you watch TV you see a mix of things.  Some ads being shown were definitely made before COVID-19 (which more and more people here are calling "The Rona".) They feature friends having lots of fun without masks, and while touching each other, or people at a restaurant, or at a local pool.  Some ads thank the first responders, a holdover from the shutdown.  Some ads assure you of the safe delivery of their product, whether it is pizza, a new car, or (now) furniture.  We even have a dentist who does implants advertising online consultations for when he can finally do the work he does again.

Things are reopening in the country, in some states more than others, and I think people have decided that they want nothing more than things to go back to normal.

So spouse and I decide to go to the park, and this is what we see:  lots of people enjoying sunshine, people at picnic tables (we can have gatherings of 10 or less now, but masks are needed if social distance can't be maintained)  and people strolling jogging, or even playing tennis (tennis is permitted now.)  And then, in nearby neighborhoods, there are even more signs of the times.

No large picnics in shelters.

No bocci ball.

At least people working in hospitals and nursing homes are still heroes, at least on signs.

Children still draw on the sidewalk with chalk, The Rona or no Rona.

This was April.  Now, it's loosening - a little.

All these realities weave and interweave.  We are at the intersection of multiple realities. We want so badly to interact with each other again and we can do this, but not that.  That, but not this.

We are all feeling the pull towards "let's find a new normal".  I know I am. 
It is wonderful, as long as the downward trend of New York State lasts. Let's hope it does and that the curve doesn't start to rise again.  Hope....because the alternative is unpleasant to think of.

In the meantime, I choose to live life on the terms I am comfortable with.  I'm blessed to be in a position to be able to.  Not everyone is.