Years ago, this storefront was where the Whine and Dine meetup group used to meet. Since then, the restaurant has closed, the meetup group shut down, and the owner moved to Texas to live a new life. Why do I bring this up? To answer this, I go back to the old phrase: "This too shall pass."
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Virtually everything now is being affected by the pandemic - even though we have a vaccine which will be available to most of us in the spring. Most of us have 4 to 6 months before we are able to get vaccinated, and we will have one last season of being shut in our homes before we start the process of living lives that resemble the "normal" we remember from 2019. But those 4 to 6 months are a long way away, and the positive infection rates in New York are about 5% of all those people being tested for Covid-19 infection.
Recently, several get-togethers I scheduled with some people have had to be postponed because of Covid-19. First, I was supposed to meet with JM for a walk. One of her friends that she met up with could have gotten infected, so JM waited until the results of her friend's Covid-19 test came in before risking new contacts with her friends. Over the weekend, FL was in contact with two people, both of whom tested positive. So FL cancelled dinner with me, and went to be tested for infection. If she tests negative twice, then we will get together for dinner one week later than planned.
TCL and I try to talk with each other every day. It's our way of making sure that there is someone there looking out for each other on a regular basis. She's looking to adopt a new cat (or two) and I hope she finds one (or two) she likes. As for me, I don't have that much to say in our conversations. But the pandemic has affected both of us, as she is very concerned about letting anyone into her house. Minor house repairs are being delayed, as she doesn't even want a handyman inside her house. And I can't blame her.
Everyone I know is affected by the pandemic, and it looks like I'll soon have to become a hermit as well. Now that people are retreating indoors, the high point of today became doing the laundry - as this got me out of my apartment for a while. After a dinner with Vicki and shopping with FH over the weekend, I doubt that many people will be comfortable meeting with others inside their houses or indoors at a restaurant.
As I try to remind myself, "This too shall pass."
