Things I No Longer Know How To Do

I can easily locate the appropriate cleaning supplies in the appropriate room with the appropriate amount of searching- which is none, because each is in the first place I look, because that's how I decided where to put them.  

That happened during Pandemica, when I was cleaning out of boredom.  Now that life is on its way to normal, I find that I am impressed by the convenience, and wondering why I haven't done the rest of my house the same way.  It feels like a gift from the Pandemic.  

But there are things that I lost during Pandemica, and each one makes me smile.

I have no idea how to pack to visit Little Cuter's family.  I know that I have clothes there.  What they are is a hazy recollection of some favorite pieces and then lots of nothing.  And then there's the issue of size.  There is more of me than there was in late 2019 - not much, but more than pants with snaps have encountered recently.  

I've decided that it's a good thing she has a washer and dryer and a neighborhood yard sale while we're there at which the discards can be given new homes.  I refuse to bring luggage.  

Speaking of luggage, I have a collection of suitcases with rusty hinges and torn seams clogging the closet space in the garage.  I am usually really good about donating and recycling and sharing, yet since I discovered this before our first foray out into the world (for Big Cuter's wedding) a month ago, I've been tripping over them as I get into and out of my car.  

You'd think I'd do something about it, but I seem to have lost my oomph to do more than one thing in a day, and, even then, two days in a row out of the house feels untethered.  

I've forgotten how to multi-task, because for so long there were so few tasks.  I'm not sure all that busyness needs to be recovered, but the absence of my ability to cope is of note.

I'm getting better at not judging the wearing of masks; I'll wear one whenever I go out with the grandkids - in solidarity with them and to protect against the slightest hint of disease getting into their bodies.  Uncle Joe and the CDC could've done a better job at the roll out,  and I know the science says there's a miniscule risk of transmission, but as long as FlapJilly wears a mask at school, Gramma and Grampa will be wearing them with her.  

But there's this: do I hold doors for people when I am unmasked and they are masked?  Do I hold doors at all, even when masked?  The science says yes to both, but I find that I am not the only one who no longer knows what to do where etiquette is concerned.

Reality is taking some getting used to.