Amanda Lamb: This is what we do now

For many people, this weekend wasn’t just a holiday weekend, it signaled the end of quarantine after what probably seemed like an endless two months for many.

For me, because I’ve continually worked outside the home, the biggest difference is more people and more traffic. I’m not going to lie, working during a pandemic felt like I was a kid again growing up in the 70s. I didn’t have to plan for traffic jams when I needed to drive somewhere—there was no traffic. Going places that were deserted and quiet made me nostalgic for an earlier time, a time that our children will never truly experience.

But the good news is that they’ve had the opportunity to experience a taste of that over the past two months—spending time with family, having meals together, playing games, talking. My hope is that when our children look back on the quarantine, they will not necessarily do so with a negative perspective, but with a healthy perspective. I hope that we can hold onto some of these newfound connections to each other, to simpler things, and realize that all of things we thought we needed to be happy…well, maybe we don’t need those things after all.

So, as we dip our toes into the post-quarantine world, I say yes, support local businesses, absolutely. Do things at your comfort level. But let’s not slide back into the chaos, the treadmill of life where we are moving too fast to realize just how important family dinners are.

The other night my 17-year-old was annoyed when we called her for dinner, and she was in the middle of a homework assignment.

“Why is this such a big deal? Is this what we do now?” she said with a typical teenager eye roll.

“Yes,” I replied. “This is what we do now.”