in the beginning

A week or two in, I remember some of my friends saying how much more relaxed they felt — less pressured — despite the raging, unpredictable virus and financial uncertainty that was spreading outside our homes. 

There was something almost comforting about being required to stay at home. 

We all hunkered down and started cooking. Or cleaning. Or organizing. Or catching up on all those streaming TV shows we may have missed. Or those books we wanted to read and never quite got around to. 

But it's now been over three months since NY initially shut down. Today Phase 3 begins. And while indoor dining is still not allowed, spas and nail salons can open. 

Still, everyday life hasn't changed very much since this all started.

This weekend I finished an online course offered by Johns Hopkins. I am now certified to become a contact tracer.

Aside from that, I did very little over the holiday weekend.

It's too hot to go out for a walk. And even plans to get together with friends is limited to outside. And if it rains... well, there is no back-up plan. Plan B is simply to re-schedule.

Life has become incredibly dull. All this sameness is not much fun.

Despite the city's slow and careful re-opening, my behavior, and those of my friends, has changed little.

We still wear masks and socially distance. 

We still don't visit in each others' homes. 

We still don't casually shop in stores. 

And we still don't participate in restaurant outdoor-dining. 

Yes, I am more relaxed with the packages and groceries that enter my house.

Yes, I will soon get a much-needed haircut. It's been five months and my raggedy hair desperately needs it.

Yes, I have visited my dermatologist, because I had to.

And yes, I might even get a manicure so my cuticles can be brought under control.

But overall, the virus is still out there. And until there is an effective treatment and a vaccine, not much has really changed.