What do you miss most this summer?

So far 2020 has been unlike any other year I remember in my lifetime. Covid-19 has turned the world upside down causing physical upheaval, emotional stresses, and economic uncertainties. As I was sitting at my desk last week I realized we are now in our 18th week of 'officially' dealing with this pandemic. People where I live have either stayed home, worked from home, been laid off of their job, temporarily home-schooled their kids, worn face masks to go out, stocked up on Lysol spray or Clorox disinfectant wipes, cleaned their groceries before putting them away, gone back to work (but in a different way), taken up after dinner walks or bike riding, viewed their weekly church services through live streams on Sundays, or learned to master Zoom or Facebook video chats. When all of this became real for me was in mid-March. Eighteen weeks ago none of us thought we would still be dealing with all of this now. Scary and uncertain times, for sure.

We've sped right through spring and are now half way through our summer. I heard one person say they were ready to put out the pumpkins, hand out some Halloween candy, start putting the Christmas lights up, and fix a full turkey dinner this weekend ... just so we could speed through the rest of 2020 and be done with it. I think many of us are ready to start fresh.

It's mid-July and truth be told some people are frustrated that they've had to cancel vacation plans that they had been thinking about since last year. Getaways, day trips, family reunions, and seeing extended family members are often put off until the summer when the kids are out of school and the weather is good for traveling. I asked my readers on my Facebook page what they missed most this summer. Their answers ranged from 'going to people's houses and hanging out', 'missing things that were not at their house', 'cancelled trips', 'festivals', to 'feeling uncertain about decisions to venture anywhere ... constantly second guessing what to do and how to do it'. 

Yes, this pandemic has taken its toll on many of us in different ways; some physically, emotionally, spiritually, or financially. People need human interaction. People crave fresh air and the warmth of the sun on their skin. People yearn for conversation. Sure, some people do fine being cooped up and being away from other people, but not everyone. I've lived in my house for 20+ years and have seen more people walking dogs past my house in the last 4 months than in the first 20 years combined. 

We, as a society, have found that we need to be flexible with how we do things right now, but more importantly we've found that we need to be creative with our time. I've had friends that have cancelled their trips to Europe that had been planned for the last year. I've seen people buy bicycles and backyard pools or new BBQs. We are strong and don't give up easily. If I need to wear a mask right now when I leave my house, so be it ... at least I am getting out and going somewhere or doing something. I will admit, I have better days and I have worse days. It's been 5 months since I have physically seen or hugged my granddaughters. That's been the hardest thing for me.

Our lives have many seasons; besides just the four that are reflected on our fridge calendars. We will deal with loss, with sickness, with a broken heart, a financial stress, gain unwanted weight, and a job search. BUT we'll also deal with seasons of strength, of hope, of dreams, and of longing. We'll get through this summer, just like we did our spring. Our summer may look different than those in the past, but perhaps next summer we'll look back at all the family time we had, the exercise we got, the number of closets we organized, and in my case the number of adult paint by number canvases I either bought or completed, lol.

Hang in there and make the most of it!