April 6 - Back to Normal?

In Osoyoos, BC, there is a partial causeway leading from the campground at Haynes Point out across the lake. I say “partial”, because the sandy gravel path doesn’t quite get to the other side. Walking on this narrow pathway makes me think of our collective journey coming out of the global pandemic to what we must now think of as “normal times.”

In recent weeks I have spoken with several friends who are only just now experiencing feelings of anxiety and depression. These are the same strong willed people who seemed to me to be coping extremely well in the days of COVID and fairly severe restrictions. Why now are they feeling anxious, depressed and sad?

I was speaking with my friend, Sue, about this strange phenomenon. She suggested that perhaps now some of us are dealing with a form of PTS. During the trauma of the pandemic, we stayed strong on bursts of energy and adrenalin but now that we are emerging from those crisis days, our bodies are reacting differently. The certainty of COVID is giving way to the uncertainty of where our future might take us next.

I can compare a little of this when I think of the Osoyoos causeway. There is a bench at the beginning of the pathway and Lyle and I often sit and people watch. Some folk race and leap along the trail as if the water on either side was the depth and heat of a bathtub. Others only venture a few feet before turning back. Sometimes, strangers to the area will ask our advice about venturing further along. Once we saw a foolhardy couple who donned rubber boots and with wild abandon walked in water up to their knees.

We believe that in days gone by, the causeway did stretch to the other side of the lake, but in our history with the place, we have never seen anyone cross the full distance. In fact, there is a channel of deep fast flowing water that separates the end of the path from the mainland on the other side. That other side is simply now unreachable.

Just so, it is an unrealistic goal to think that we can return to the normal of pre-pandemic times. Over the past two years, too many of us have suffered too many losses. Life will never be quite the same again.

I have always walked with much caution along the Osoyoos causeway. With my limited sight, I think that the first sign of being at the end or edge would be when my foot or shoe sank under water. I remind myself that I need to have the same caution as I think about emerging from the pandemic and its various restrictions. Yes, I will proceed forward to the new normal, but I will proceed with care.

There is a photo with this post. I am standing with my walking sticks at the beginning of the causeway. On one side, the waves are coming in little ripples whipped by the wind, while on the other side the  lake water is calm. I wouldn’t like to fall in on either side!

 

Sue standing at the causeway