I sometimes feel like an ill equipped reporter. Someone giving not just the facts but some sort of conglomerate perspective of the pandemic, a thing I don’t want to report on but can’t get out of my mind. Like a scab that you know you shouldn’t pick at lest the bleeding start again. Like the majority of the world it’s like I’m hovering in some sort of alternate reality. Part anxious and indecisive on what I should do while trying to be a good steward to the world. Meanwhile, my businesses suffer as the one thing that’s true is that how the world consumes things has be irrevocably changed. Likely for good.

A good friend texted me last week to check in and see how things were going. I asked him how often he went out to eat each week pre-pandemic. He said 4-5 times. I asked him about now and he said 1-2. I then said that sounded like what we are seeing. We are 50% down on walk in business. Positioned in that light it made sense to him. He’d never looked at it from his side. To be fair, I am eating out about half as much or less too. It’s not blame. It’s reality. 

I’m of the opinion that we won’t return to pre pandemic walk in sales levels. Maybe ever. This is because people have moved on. They get along on less and even though this affects my businesses negatively. It’s likely good overall for society. The mass consumerism of the pre-pandemic life looks incredibly unsustainable from this side of things. It proved we needed less. 

For the first 3 weeks of things people were clamoring for their weekend routines. Meeting friends for dinner and drinks. Then they were forced to not donor for 2+ months and they moved on. 

We’ve all moved on. 

It’s not all doom and gloom though y’all. There’s going to be some sort of silver lining. More family time or something, but it’s good to recall that many of us have families and situations that are toxic at best. It’s good to remember those friends and reach out to them as just as you’ve forgotten about Thursday happy hour. You may have forgotten about your friend who lives alone too. 

Just as the days have turned into Groundhog Day this post doesn’t tidy up at the end. This is because there isn’t anything tidy about it. There is no unified National plan.  In fact, the very freedoms we celebrate are creating the dissonance that we are longing to overcome. Freedom to decide to create our own opinions. To refute science and information because “I heard that so and so said...” and the like. There’s no unity. It’s like we are at D-Day and instead of 150,000 soldiers storming the beaches of Normandy we allowed them all to decide what’s the best way to attack. Some of us are storming into Portugal wondering where everyone else went. 

The world has moved along alright. Towards what I’m still waiting to find out. 

#hugsandhi5s