Things we took for granted #PreLockdown

By: Natasha Archary

As I recount stories from my elders about “the good ol’ days,” I imagine myself doing the same a few years from now, post COVID-19, with the young ones in my family. And then I wonder if this pandemic will ever truly be behind us or if this is what life be like for generations to come.

If it is then the future is bleak, loveless, cold, socially unfamiliar and I don’t want any part of it. Not that one has a choice. There are so many things we took for granted. Let’s take stock and prepare our regaling tales about our “good ol’ days”.

An active social life

Whether you’re the life of the party or a lone ranger, having the freedom to attend social gatherings has got to be one of the things I miss the most. Meeting up for sundowners, painting the town red on a girls’ night, going on dates and fancy dinners (with people we’re probably going to be ghosted by the next day), weekends away, travel diaries being booked. Sigh.

Now, we have to settle on virtual coffee catchups with the mates and online “textationships” to keep our dating life somewhat interesting.

Socially distant

With everything that’s going on in the world right now, one has to question whether social distancing is doing more harm than good. With the racially charged tension and senseless acts of violence against people of color, are we creating a bigger divide with tolerance? All it’s doing is seemingly making people uneasy in public.

We’re becoming a world of impatient people who just avoid one another like the plague, pun intended. And it’s understandable because we are aware of the risks with contact, but I took the warm hugs and shows of affection from those around me for granted.

Fashionably null and void

We may be allowed to buy clothing now, but does it fit in with the current state of things? You have to wear a mask with every trend you are trying to nail, and it just defeats the purpose. [See point below.]

Breathing

It’s suffocating going everywhere with a mask on. Misting up your specs. Muffling your conversation. Blocking out your expression. The thought of breathing without a mask on being hazardous is enough to see you hyperventilating. People and children with chronic respiratory conditions must find it especially restrictive.

Sanitizer in the air

All the sanitizing. Store to store. Place to place. Car to home. After touching everything. Sometimes getting into your eyes. Often burning your skin and causing skin irritation. With all the sanitizing the world has been doing surely there’s enough in the Earth’s atmosphere to kill off any airborne COVID-19 particles?

Access to all our vices

Whatever gets you through the day that you may not be allowed to right now, ‘ENTER HERE’. With alcohol only just being allowed for private consumption, I can relate to every one of you who is dealing with withdrawal symptoms from life anew.

– No smoking.

– No gym facilities.

– No hair salons or nail appointments.

– No hotel or accommodation venues.

– No golf.

– No hiking or leisure activities.

– No restaurants or bars.

– No cinemas or theatres.

– No sports.

To school or not to

We’ve touched on homeschooling challenges that many parents have had but I’m sure many parents will count their days spent with their children as a blessing in disguise. With the confusion about schools returning on the 01 June, and then later being retracted, it comes as a relief to many families.

Homeschooling

At the time of this article going live, reports of missing PPE’s for schools in KZN was under the spotlight. Divine intervention or more corruption? Either way, it will be a while still before the academic year goes ‘back to normal’.

The office environment

Who would have thought we’d admit to missing those open-plan spaces and communal coffee areas? There’s something fiercely adult about working from an office and putting in a regular workday, isn’t it? Most have thrived in work from home mode. Then there are those of us who have spent most of the lockdown in a vegetative trance, on the couch, catching up on series.

Economic Freedom

There’s no doubt that the lockdown restrictions since March has had adverse effects on the economy. With many businesses forced to close up shop and let go of staff, job losses and financial difficulty hit millions of South Africans over the past 3 months. The expectations are that it will only get worse as the pandemic progresses, globally.

What do you miss pre-COVID 19? Share with us @KayaFM95dot9 using the hashtag #KayaOnline

Written by: Natasha

COVID-19 Lifestyle New normal Prelockdown