It doesn't much matter, the outcome of the pandemic. The damage to our way of life will be irreversible, regardless. We have all stepped to the other wide of Plato's bonfire and now have new truths. Perhaps we've discovered what really IS important to us, individually and in groups. Did it hurt to stand and talk to your mother with a glass door between you? What emotions ran through you when your coworker, his face a mask of anguish and despair, described taking his wife to the ER with a fever and never seeing or speaking to her again? Will you go back to a favorite restaurant or order delivery from it, because you wont order as much or you can avoid the tip? You've put the money into a subscription to a few streaming services, right? It's so much more convenient and a lot cheaper to watch that movie at home than to sit in a hard seat in a theater with sticky floors. Oh, and the popcorn is a lot less expensive -- even if you buy the $3.00 mega-bag at the grocery store.
What the heck. You cleaned out that box of papers and stuff behind the dining room table. Shades of Indiana Jones! You found the Apple iWatch that you thought you'd left at the gym. It was alongside $125 worth of gift cards from Christmas. And there, masquerading as a bookmark in a cookbook, was the water bill that you swore you'd paid; arguing with the utility company for weeks.
You've learned to cook, well almost. At least, you no longer qualify for Worst Cooks in America, even if you're not ready for Next Food Network Star. but, you know you can do a much healthier taco than that restaurant that shares space with the Colonel. Your spaghetti isn't mushy, even if the sauce is bottled. But, you didn't replace the green can when you discovered the true taste of grated parmigiana. You're even sitting down to eat, as a family, now that soccer, band, piano and dance are all cancelled. It's amazing. Your teenager is actually talking to you.
It's just going to be different. That's the sum of it. Some who should have lived, didn't. Some that you think tempted the fates by going to the beach, partying with a bunch of friends and insisting on attempting to shake hands survived as if the disease never happened. The fates have a tendency to be fickle. But, life will go on. But, it's still going to be a bumpy ride for a while. Ya'll remember to wear your seat belts and wash your hands.