“What we hope ever to do with ease, we must learn to first do with diligence.” Samuel Johnson
Things are finally beginning to re-open in California and even though businesses will have capacity limitations- nail shops, restaurants, gyms, malls, bars, schools, and churches- are slowly reopening and although I’m apprehensive, I am actually glad. Since most of us have been confined to our homes for over a year, people are ready to get things back to normal. Hell, I’ve been cooped up for so long, I don’t remember what normal is. I’ll admit, I am not eager to go back to work to share an office or to go back to the gym and use machines that people didn’t clean before the pandemic. And although, I am ready to get out and do stuff……I do think it’s best if I slowly EASE BACK INTO IT. So, I’m going to let those folks who are in a rush to get out, go first. I am going to let them test the air first. Despite the vaccination giving me a little confidence, I’m still in no rush to resume my daily and weekly pre-pandemic activities. No rush at all. For me, it’s too soon, so my plan is to gradually EASE BACK INTO IT. How about you? Are you ready to dive back in? Go out to dinner? Socialize with friends? I KNOW I AM!!! But, I am going to gradually EASE BACK INTO IT. So for this week’s blog, let’s talk SHIP about when to EASE BACK INTO IT!!!
For the past, 13 months, besides work, I have been a woman of leisure. With everything being held at home, I’ve had no reason to rush anywhere or to even get dressed. I attend church services in pajamas and wear sweats when working, so there’s rarely a need to dress up. Even when I go to the grocery store or 7-11, I wear my trusted sweats. Yet with so many people getting vaccinated and things opening up a bit, I needed to consider EASING BACK INTO my own life. I needed to get dressed, get out there and start doing stuff. I needed to start socializing and re-establishing some of my friendSHIPS and relationSHIPS. So when I received an invitation to attend two gatherings for this weekend, I gladly accepted. These invitations gave me a reason to abandon my sweats and to get out of the house. It would also be the first time that I’d been out socializing with anyone since the beginning of the pandemic. I knew that I needed to get back to living my life, but, I also knew that I wasn’t ready to jump headfirst. I knew that I needed to EASE BACK INTO IT and these weekend plans were a refreshing and promising start.
The weekend was finally here and I was excited. On Saturday, I participated in a drive-by birthday celebration for one of my sistah-gurlfriend’s and had a great time. As we lined up in cars waiting to extend our birthday wishes and hand off our birthday gifts, I got a chance to see other childhood friends. I must admit, it felt good seeing everyone, being outside, even if I was inside a car. It was good just being in a festive mood and celebrating something. Although I was only out for a short period of time, I realized that this was the perfect opportunity for me to engage and slowly EASE BACK INTO IT. Then on Sunday, once again, I seized the opportunity to toss my sweats for Palazzo pants and attended a lunch date with some family friends aboard their yacht in the Marina. It was a hot sunny day, and as much as I like being on the water, and eating good food, this event was a bit more nerve-wracking for me. Even though everyone had been fully vaccinated, this was an outing that required the constant removal of masks to eat and drink. As we continued to social distance and wear our masks, after a while, I felt relaxed and was finally able to enjoy the experience. It turned out to be a beautiful day filled with good food, great conversations, lots of laughter, and good people. After a few hours, we drove back home and I reflected on the day and thought, this too was another great way for me to gradually EASE BACK INTO IT.
Even though things are beginning to re-open and more people are getting vaccinated, there is still an element of uncertainty and I am still skeptical about rushing back to normalcy. I do believe that people should get out and resume some of their activities when they feel comfortable but I think they should gradually EASE BACK INTO IT. This weekend, I discovered that being on lockdown for 13 months, didn’t make me socially awkward and that I still possessed the ability to socialize, laugh, and have fun with friends. I discovered that I could still engage in silly, and stimulating conversations and that I still enjoy the company of others. I also discovered that having inactivity for over a year, and getting out having all-day activities was tiresome. Which further supported my decision to slowly EASE BACK INTO IT. In the end, I had a great weekend but I discovered that I am in no rush to get out there. I’ve decided that for now, I am going to continue enjoying my sweats, attending church in my pajamas, and spending peaceful and quality time with my family. You can go ahead and jump right back ALL in it if you want, but I’ll wait. I’m just gonna take it slooooowwwww, enjoy life, and I will gradually EASE BACK INTO IT!!!
SHIP TALK: Are you eager to get out and resuming your activities? Or are you going to slowly EASE BACK INTO IT?
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