It was a weird feeling on the weekend. It felt like 2019.听
I was actually out in the community and covering events.
There was the Estevan Oilfield Technical Society鈥檚 Oilmen鈥檚 Golf Tournament, the opening day of spray parks in the city (just in time for a heat wave), a bicycle safety clinic offered by the Estevan Family Centre, and the opening day for the Southeast Performance Pump U18 AAA Twins baseball team.听
I could have done more, but there鈥檚 only so much space in the paper.听
It was definitely a weird feeling to spend time sorting through photos for this week鈥檚 paper. In many weeks over the 15 months, the photos I鈥檝e had to sort through have been submitted pictures or file photos.
We haven鈥檛 spent a lot of time just being out in the community.
I look forward to doing it more often. And I know I鈥檒l eventually take it for granted again.听
We鈥檙e into Phase 1 of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Road Map, or the sequel to the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan. There are things we can do now that we couldn鈥檛 do a few weeks ago. In a week and a half, we鈥檒l be into Step 2, and we鈥檒l be able to do even more. 听
Maybe, just maybe, on July 11, we can stop wearing our masks when we go into a business (some national businesses might still have mask mandates) and we can pack the grandstand at the Estevan Motor Speedway with 1,500 people.
Of course, we鈥檒l need people to keep getting vaccinated, and my guess is we鈥檒l need our current case count to remain low.
If July 11 rolls around and we鈥檙e able to bid adieu to masks, social distancing and crowd limitations, both indoors and outdoors, then we should be thankful. We can shake hands, hug and sit next to a stranger without feeling nervous. We can see each other鈥檚 smiles again. 听
We won鈥檛 have to worry about self-isolation any longer.听
All of these actions I鈥檝e listed above are ones that most of us will enjoy. Some won鈥檛; they鈥檒l still have the lingering concerns about the pandemic that has touched every aspect of our lives.
And eventually, all of these actions will become normal again, and we鈥檒l take them for granted.听
Yes, there鈥檒l be the 鈥渞emember when鈥� comments about COVID, when we reflect on the months in lockdown in spring 2020; the time spent living with restrictions, wondering what activities would be the next to be called off; and crossing our fingers that we don鈥檛 get hit as hard as other parts of the world, or even other parts of the country.听
But those thoughts will subside.
I could sit here and tell you that in a year, I鈥檒l still have that incredible feeling of going out and covering something. But that would be a lie. I know I鈥檒l take it for granted. I鈥檒l likely take it for granted six months from now.
That doesn鈥檛 mean I won鈥檛 enjoy going to golf tournaments, or attending council meetings without a mask, or entering the hospital or a school for an event. I鈥檒l enjoy them, every bit as much as I enjoyed them before March 2020. 听
But the day will come when I won鈥檛 think of how unique it is to do those things. It鈥檒l be something that I really enjoy doing, as part of a job that I really enjoy doing.听
In two years, I won鈥檛 be thinking how special it is to be at an Estevan Bruins hockey game against the Kindersley Klippers on a Saturday night. Excited to be there? Absolutely.
I鈥檝e missed seeing smiling faces. I don鈥檛 like taking pictures covered by masks. I want to see the smile on a kid鈥檚 face when they know their picture is going into the paper. I want to see the smile on a recipient鈥檚 face during a cheque presentation.
And I want to have people stand shoulder to shoulder for photos. Socially distanced photos don鈥檛 work in print.
Again, though, these are all things I hope I won鈥檛 have to think about in a few months鈥� time.
Eventually, it won鈥檛 feel special boarding a plane or travelling to the U.S. for a Sunday drive. 听
And that鈥檚 just fine with me. 听
听
