'Twas the Night Before People

Today a friend sent me a text that said, in part, "Day of Freedom Eve is here!" The day we've been counting down to for two and a half years is tomorrow. Topher will finally be fully vaccinated and we will rejoin society.

And I'm not sure how I feel.

We've all missed:

• people
• especially family
• in-person church that doesn't lag or skip
• visiting the Temple
• participating in extracurricular activities
• handshakes and hugs with people that don't live in our house
• staying at parks, even when other people show up
• libraries
• museums
• adventures
• traveling
• going inside other people's homes
• inviting other people into our home
• fully serving in our church callings
• many other things that have happened over the last two and a half years that we've had to skip

All of that was hard. But now that it's time to go back, I'm anxious. Will we remember how to interact with other people? Will we remember how to carry on conversations with people that don't know our particular shorthand? How long will it take for someone to bring COVID home? Are we prepared for that? Am I ready to be crazy busy again? Am I ready for the influence of the kids' friends to suddenly be much louder and stronger? Have we done enough to prepare Topher for how to behave in church? Will I suddenly be called to serve in the Primary as his shadow to help him be calm and reverent?

There are so many more concerns floating through my brain. At the same time, I'm giddy to be back in person. Our reentry celebration tomorrow consists of Peter and Cooper attending seminary in person, me taking Topher and anyone else who is caught up on school to a park that is never totally empty so we haven't been since the pandemic hit, and taking the three older kids to YW/YM tomorrow night inside the church building. On Thursday I might even take the kids to the library.

That would be wild.