In a world striving for normalcy, I find myself trying to find something positive about our past two years of pandemic with all the negatives of Covid. The period of shutdowns did produce a time of togetherness that allowed many families to spend a whole lot more time together; time that might have been spent traveling to work, going to meetings or attending social events in the pre-Covid world. Instead, we found ourselves spending more quality time with families and our furry family members in an effort not to catch or spread the coronavirus. 

Right now, you have to wonder if we’ll ever return to what we used to consider normal. No one knows for certain how life will be going forward with new variants, strains and outbreaks, but I feel confident that we are in a better place now and will continue to improve. Hopefully, as we move back toward normalcy, we’ll be kinder and more patient with each other and appreciate the simple things in life like spending time with family, friends and our pets. Masks might be an ongoing accessory, and hand washing multiple times a day will probably carry over. Hopefully, we can embrace these minor inconveniences and work together as a community to make sure we don’t return to the health scares of the past two years.   

“Out and About” is beginning to happen more frequently. Proms finally took place in person. We’re going to ballgames. We’re meeting friends, attending fundraisers, going out to dinner! We’re flying and going on vacation again!

Here are a few families, friends and furry friends in our community that are making the most of that quality time together as we work our way back toward what we consider normal.