By David Crow
Conversations
David Crow
At times it seems like a long time ago. At other times it doesn’t seem so long ago. Sometimes it seems that it is many miles away. Sometimes it seems it is so close we can almost touch it.
A long-dormant, tiny kind of warmth always returns with the spring here in New England. Every year as the perennials push their heads out of the ground and the robins fly north to trade places with the local baseball teams that fly south for spring training, we in New England start to feel that tiny kind of warmth.
Maybe it’s those first few blessed moments when you climb into your car and notice that the sun has warmed the interior while you were shopping. Maybe it’s the time you spend out front raking the yard when you notice you feel the sun reddening the back of your neck. Maybe it’s the time you spend reading in your favorite chair after dinner and you realize that suddenly you’ve got to lower the shade a bit to protect against the glare of the sun.
This spring brings with it a second tiny warmth with the promise that perhaps another long and cold ordeal is almost over. Maybe things won’t ever be quite the same as they were before, but perhaps the fear that has sat tugging at our collective elbows will start to retreat. That puts me in the mind to recall a few things I’m looking forward to returning in the near future.
Call me lazy, but I look forward to taking the elevator again. Since March 2020 I’ve been taking the stairs, and while that’s good for me there are a few buildings which have a few more flights of stairs than I’d care to hike up anymore. I’m also looking forward to using the handrails again without getting the insistent foreboding that I’d better go wash my hands immediately.
While we’re on the subject of hand washing, I’m looking forward to that simple act not being a possibly life-or-death imperative. It can go back to being something I simply do before I eat because that’s what my mother taught me.
I’m looking forward to dinning out again. I’m looking forward to a table full of friends and family sharing food with each other off their plates. I’m looking forward to a beer and live music in front of a packed house. I’m looking forward to 2 a.m. pancakes with a side of banter to the next person at the lunch counter and chewing the rag with the other patrons in line at the deli for lunch.
I look forward to meetings not looking like the opening credits of the Brady Bunch. I look forward to not having to worry if the cats will jump up on the keyboard while I’m in a meeting. I’m looking forward to sharing some peanuts at a ball game or finally getting to see that Billy Joel concert I bought tickets for that was scheduled for March 2020. In fact, I just look forward to actually going to an actual meeting of any kind.
I’m looking forward to hand sanitizer not being put on everything in life like a condiment. I’m pretty tired of life with hand sanitizer on the side. I’m looking forward to unmuffled laughter and unhidden smiles. (I know you’re smiling under that mask. I can see your cheeks rise and the corner of your eyes crinkle, but I miss seeing your teeth as you break into your glorious grin.) I look forward to pats on the shoulder and slaps on the back. I look forward to those long overdue handshakes and hugs that haven’t been shared since last March.
Yeah, I’m looking forward to a time when things seem a bit more like they were when we used to see each other every day and share moments of close community. I look forward to the end of this long, cold ordeal with the tiny kind of warmth that we all are starting to feel for the first time since March 2020.
I’m not the only one looking forward to seeing you as soon as possible. So please get vaccinated.
Y’all come out!