“would things be different when you meet your friends and family after a long gap?” I had thought about this question as we got out from lockdown last year. There was no way of knowing until you met someone you had not met in person for a long time.

It had to be different. I was prepared. Everyone had to change their habits last year. Adapt to the new way of living. Some people had to create a shell around how they dealt with being alone. From looking forward to hanging out with others to now being ok with being alone. Would most people go back to their old way of life before lockdown, or would they become this new person that society had forced onto them? I had read in a book that it takes 21 days to form a habit. We had been in lockdown for more than 21 days. New habits had to start.

Meeting someone after a year and a half, I was surprised this week with how someone I knew for a long time had changed so much. I was expecting the change. I was just not prepared for it. Maybe it was me. I had to have changed to be deal with the changes around me. Things did not feel the same. Would we be rigid around sticking to the habits that formed the weekly schedule, or would we be open to change when friends and family visit?