I was enjoying the freedom to be out and about. I decided to stop at the thrift store near my home. I carried my mask in case it was required. When I reached the door, I noticed that the masks required sign was gone. However, the clerks and some customers still wore them. The dressing rooms were closed and blocked off. I thought, Even though things are getting better, Covid-19 is not over yet. It is not a thing of the past.
When I went to the library, I saw confirmation of my previous conclusion. The comfortable chairs that previously invited patrons to select a book, sit down and read were gone. The resulting empty spaces seemed desolate—a large cavern with end tables spaced throughout—but no chairs. The tables at the far end of the room had a single chair at each one instead of the usual four chairs. The drinking fountains were covered with plastic. Self-checkout stations were socially distanced with hand sanitizing stations near each one. A sign instructed patrons to sanitize hands before checking books out. Patrons were free to choose whether or not to wear a mask, but all of the staff wore masks. I could only assume there was a smile behind those masks as they welcomed patrons and answered questions.
The library felt more normal to me as I browsed the aisles between the shelves of books. I wandered up and down the aisles with gratitude in my heart that I could now take a book off the shelf, read its cover blurb and turn its pages to determine if it was my kind of book—one I would like to read. Browsing in the library itself was so much better than browsing the online catalog and requesting books that I would later pick up by appointment in the parking lot.
Time always moves forward. The world will never return to the pre-Covid normal. The experiences I live through change me. I move forward in time, and I choose. I cannot choose the challenges I will face, but I can choose my actions and my attitude. I can waste time and energy worrying and complaining, or I can move forward and cope the best I can. Rather than focus on what this challenge has done to me, I can focus on how I can lift and help another. I would hope to emerge from each challenge a better, kinder person.