Member-only story
As Isolation Becomes Normal
We’re at the very beginning of a new world — and it’s not too soon to recognize what we miss and crave.
“If you aren’t feeling well, or if you’ve traveled recently, please skip this Friday night dinner and come to the next one instead.”
And in the seconds it takes to read a text message, my Friday night plans and best chance at meaningful social interaction this weekend was gone.
When exactly will the next one be?
And what shall I do until then?
It was Joni Mitchell in “Big Yellow Taxi” who sang, “don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” I think it was Poison who reiterated that in a slightly different song sometime in the late ‘80s.
This is what I thought of yesterday morning when I couldn’t buy broccoli. I arrived at my local grocery store 30 minutes after opening, and the broccoli was gone. The cauliflower, too, and the Brussels sprouts and lettuce.
I yearned for the missing produce. As I walked through the store, I was surprised at what was gone (bananas) and what hadn’t been touched at all (apples). I rarely buy bananas but I was struck with the desire, in the moment, to get some. I never knew I could miss bananas.
