It’s a Wednesday night and you’ve just wrapped up dinner with a few of the girls at a little place you’ve walked past a hundred times but hadn’t ever been to. You’re a casual two glasses of wine deep and feeling chatty, while simultaneously dreading the next two days of work. Your bed is calling and it is loud. The waitress comes over and asks if there’s anything else she can get for you, and it’s panicky eye contact around the table. The check? Another glass? Dessert? Suddenly everyone is at a loss for words, shrugging, “I’m fine either way!” or “whatever you guys want to do.” Until someone who can’t stand the awkwardness of the waitress just STANDING there, blurts out “we’ll just take the check.” Everyone heads home, you hop into bed and think about what a nice time you had and that you’re glad you didn’t end up cancelling. It’s, all in, a pretty good Wednesday.

There’s no love lost about the glass of wine that could have been. This is life before a pandemic.

These last few weeks it’s been hard to imagine going out to a restaurant anytime soon. It’s hard to imagine being with a bunch of friends all at the same time. It’s hard to imagine leaving the house without a mask and gloves and a bout of anxiety. It’s just a hard time we’re living in. But if there’s one positive thing that comes out of this, I think it’s safe to say that we are d-o-n-e taking things for granted. Even the simple things, like running to the store for flour to bake a cake, seem like a luxury to us right now. Hugging your friends. Just SEEING your family. Concerts. Sporting events. Parties. Family barbecues. Weddings. Being able to smile at a stranger on the street. Happy hour at a real live BAR!!! Can you imagine!?

All of these things that used to feel so normal, seem like an impossibility now. Including the decision to order another drink. Another glass of wine, another cosmo, another beer, another martini. All of the “one more rounds” I could have had have been haunting me in these weeks at home. All of the extra minutes I could have spent with the people I miss so much. All of the conversation we didn’t have just because work the next day was looming over us. There’s so much that wasn’t appreciated because it was never really a luxury.

I think that’s one of the most important things this pandemic is teaching us. It’s forcing us to slow down and appreciate the little things in life. It’s forcing us to be thankful for the things we may have taken for granted before.

The things I’m most excited to do when this is all over aren’t crazy things. I’m not excited to travel or go on vacations or see a concert or a baseball game (––although that would all be lovely.) I’m looking forward to going to our neighborhood bar, sitting at our regular table, and saying “lets have one more.”