We’re going on one year of this nightmare and I feel like we’ve sadly shifted from “temporary precautions” to “new normal”. Not by choice, of course, and we remain hopeful, but we’re starting to forget. I hate that I’m forgetting what senior living really feels like. Actually, there’s a lot about this that I can’t stand:

• I hate always knowing exactly where to find someone. I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like to have a family member pop in (without an appointment, rapid test, and PPE) & have to search the building for their loved one, who could be in a friend’s apartment, on a bus outing, in an activity.. anywhere! Anywhere but their apartment, where they’d merely sleep, not pass time.
• I hate not having to fill the bus with gas. I’ve almost forgotten what it feels like to pull up to an attendant with a van full of residents, excited to reach our destination and busting my chops about waiting until we’re almost on E. We were always almost on E, because we were always out and about. I haven’t filled the tank since March.
• I hate our empty calendar. I’ll be honest, I *used to* hate our monthly activity planning meetings – they’d inevitably run an hour over because we could never agree on what programs to add or which restaurants to try. I’ve almost forgotten how the bickering would sound, how eyes would roll, and how every time I’d cave to appease them (andddd to finally end the meeting). I never thought I’d miss that Calendar Council, but I’d do anything to host one now.
• I hate that there’s no more girl talk. After dinner, some ladies would gather in the sitting area outside my office and chat about the latest gossip, with Rosie laying at their feet. God, I loved listening to (and joining) my girls.

I guess there’s not much about this I don’t hate. I can’t wait until it’s all forgotten.