May 25, 2021
Random Acts… Having less means so more in today’s world
We all have different memories of what life was like before the country shut down last March for the pandemic.
My friend Zoe reminded me that we ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant on January 25, 2020 to celebrate the Lunar New Year. That was the last time we ate out together in a restaurant. A year and four months later, she and her husband have still only eaten home-cooked meals.
I have yet to dine out in a restaurant, too, but did start buying take-out now and then a few months ago. One thing is clear – restaurants from fast food to more upscale eateries reduced their portions without reducing their prices. That’s not surprising, since the restaurant industry has been so hard hit by the pandemic. Hopefully, the portions will grow as restaurants compete to get diners in the door again.
Last week, I went into a Marshalls for the first time in more than a year, intent on using a store gift card that I’d received for Christmas 2019. It was nice to see that the store emphasized safety. Capacity was limited by counting customers as we entered, and all were asked to wear face coverings. What wasn’t nice was waiting in a checkout line of more than 30 people, who stood almost on top of each other.
Marshalls and Home Goods, both subsidiaries of The TJX Companies, had knocked down the wall between their two stores, and customers were funneled into one checkout line. That would have made sense, if they had had more than three cashiers working. After spending an hour in that line, let’s just hope the economy recovers quickly so that more cashiers are hired soon.
It’s great that retailers are opening their doors to more customers, that workers are returning to offices, and students to schools. But it’s going to be a long time before things are “normal” again.
Just as children born after 9/11 will never know what airports were like without security checkpoints, those born after 2019 will never know the ease of life without mask mandates. Yes, we’ll be able to ditch the masks in public when governments deem the pandemic to be “officially over” in their countries.
But the end of this pandemic does not guarantee that another will not rise to take its place. Those who refuse to wear masks and get vaccinated are just dooming themselves (and the rest of us) to a continual cycle of outbreaks, requiring masks, social distancing, and more.
It’s a blessing to have food on our tables, and to have meaningful work (whether that takes place in the workplace or remotely from home). It’s a blessing to be healthy, to live another day and share it with those we love. It’s a blessing to realize that having less means so much more in today’s world.
Not being able to talk face-to-face with friends has shown which friends care enough to keep in touch however possible. Not being able to hug people has reminded us how important the feeling of being touched really is. Staying home during lockdowns has slowed us down and taught us to truly value what’s important.
As we move forward into the “new normal” life ahead, let’s hope we create a world that’s more generous, more compassionate, and more loving than the one we left behind.
Dinah Eng 