Thank you, Roger, for reading my story and taking the time to comment. Yes, if I’ve learned anything this past year, it’s that transitions are coming faster than ever.

My husband and I haven’t ventured out much during the pandemic. I’m still working and do the shopping, but other than those outings, we mostly stay home and walk in our neighborhood. After the two-week waiting period after our second Covid vaccines, we went out to dinner yesterday for the first time in over a year, choosing to go to a restaurant in our city’s downtown area, a place we used to frequent often for meals out, plays, concerts, and festivals. I imagined all would look about the same as it did 14 months ago — after all, we are in a pandemic with recommendations to curtail activities. I was wrong! We barely recognized our downtown.

Obviously, construction companies continued working at warp speed over the past year+. Buildings were gone, others were constructed, streets were rerouted, places were in the process of construction. It looked like a completely different town. Several businesses were closed — I’m sure because of the virus — some had been in our city as far back as I could remember. The cityscape was unfamiliar. Rather than our outing being a reconnection with what we hadn’t seen in many months, it was like visiting a new city for the first time. And, it felt very sad. I’m sure I’ll adjust, but it’s difficult after such an uncertain and frightening year to lose places that once conjured feelings of familiarity, history, community, and well-being.