The past few days have finally started to feel normal, or at least what the new normal is going to look like . We went for a walk, just my husband and I and we spent an hour strolling through the streets of Nisantasi. A whole hour of walking with no purpose, other than enjoying the sunshine.
For the past two and a half months, all outings had a goal: get groceries, get home supplies, get basic necessities – and do it all at warp speed. Added to this was the mask, gloves, and glasses, which all had to be present and correct, before even opening the front door. Now things are different and in the most positive and hopeful way.
We are still wearing masks but it somehow feels less ominous, because we are also wearing summer clothes and the urgent edginess of curfew has gone. The atmosphere in the streets, is different too. Less of that feeling of dashing out in the middle of an apocalypse and more of the simple joy of dawdling along and watching people go by. It feels exceptionally good to be doing ordinary things.
We found a coffee shop on wheels at the entrance to Macka Park and got iced mochas. Sitting on a park bench and seeing people smile with their eyes felt good, even if it was just a tentative feeling of hope that the ordinariness of our lives will return again. It won’t be the old normal, but it will be OK.
ALINA