I can honestly say that the changes I’ve experienced in the past few years are more about having moved from the Huon Valley to Sisters Beach just a few months before Covid-19 hit Australia.
I spent the period of lockdown entirely confined to Sisters Beach but as there is no public transport from here to anywhere else that was the case most of the time before Naomi moved up here anyway.
There were days when I didn’t see anyone or talk to anyone during lockdown but I was in a new neighbourhood where I didn’t know anyone instead of in Geeveston where I knew many people and saw friends regularly.
I adapted to all of that because as I’m a bit of an introvert anyway I was quite happy with my own company. If I wanted to talk to someone I could pick up the phone or jump on the internet as I always did. I got used to wearing a mask. I still hate them as they make my glasses steam up so these days I only use one when I must. I got used to checking in at venues and it really didn’t bother me.
Now that life is more or less back to how it was before the pandemic I do think that I appreciate small things more. It’s nice to be able to go to a car show or a market or have lunch at a cafe or a pub. I look around at all the other people going about their business and I feel grateful that we can lead normal lives once again.
If there is a negative it is that all the shortages of goods we experienced during the pandemic do not really seem to have gone away. I have fallen into the habit of taking a small shopping bag with me when I go to Wynyard to volunteer and if I see something at Woolworths that we haven’t been able to get easily or is on special I buy it whether we have run out or not. Before the pandemic I did my fortnightly shopping and unless it was a staple that I couldn’t do without, anything I ran out of I waited until next shopping day to replace. Now I don’t know if there will be eggs, potatoes, frozen broccoli or whatever so if I see them at the supermarket I buy them.
This content was originally published here.