Now that the sparkly dust from the holidays has settled, we find ourselves slapped back into reality. Flicking 2020 off at the stroke of midnight felt good and we all hoped that everything would just magically reset at 12:01 am. And after a few glasses of champagne, it probably seemed like it would. Your glittery dress looks better than it did five minutes ago and kissing that one family member, which wasn’t on top of your list, felt like you would be best friends again, right?
Wrong.
The bright light streaming in through your window on the morning of January 1st, 2021 is just as annoying as it had been on December 31, 2020.
The dogs are whining because the little boy across the street insists on honking the horn on his new red bike. You begin to realize it’s just like any other day. Besides the slight headache, everything else feels the same.
Feed the dogs
Make coffee
Turn on the News…
That’s when it hits you. World problems did not disappear just because the earth had rotated around the sun for a full 365 days. People are still dying from the pandemic, Unemployment is high and the political drama is rampant (I refuse to go into detail on that topic).
Stepping out into public seems like something from a dystopian novel. Masked faces greet you at the store with smiling eyes and a bottle of sanitizer. You smile back even though they can’t see it but because it’s second nature. If someone is NOT wearing a mask, they stand out and you wonder why they would choose not to protect themselves but I don’t judge. There could be a logical reason.
Getting on social media is a joy. People who were best friends a year ago are tearing each other apart because of the election. Facebook friend numbers are going down like a countdown at a race and you wonder what is wrong with people that they let political differences ruin their relationships. Our freedom of speech is questioned, dissected, and ignored in some instances. People are pissed, no matter what your preference for leadership in this country. These issues have touched everyone.
There is no doubt that living today is completely different than what we could have imagined. It’s a new normal we are all still struggling to become accustomed to.
Take care of yourselves,
Mirla