The Long-Term Impact of the Pandemic on Our Lives

My husband and I have thankfully escaped getting COVID-19 so far (knock on wood), though one after another of our friends and family have reported testing positive. Or if we’ve had the virus, we’ve been among the asymptomatic. So we have not had to cope with long COVID.

But that doesn’t mean the pandemic hasn’t had long-term effects on our lives. Here are a few of those effects, both silly and serious:

1. I used to try to coordinate my jewelry with what I wore. Now, I rarely wear any jewelry except earrings. And I wear the same pair of earrings almost every day. They are small white-gold loops with diamonds. My husband gave them to me for my 60th birthday, and I like them. Why bother to change?
2. When I worked, I always wore heels because I’m short. After I retired, my heel-wearing days decreased exponentially. The pandemic finished them off. I now find that I wobble in anything more than a one-inch heel or a two-inch wedge. And my feet have spread so that I can’t count on a 2A-width shoe fitting me.
3. Before the pandemic, I tried to go to one Pilates class and one yoga class every week, plus cardio exercises at home and/or walks in the neighborhood. My exercise program has changed, and not necessarily for the better. Through the worst of the pandemic, I walked regularly and used a rowing machine at home, but all classes were cancelled. When classes resumed, I was reluctant to go. Then I changed gyms to one closer to my home. I still try for a weekly yoga class, but too many things interfere with the class timing. And our rowing machine is broken. So I walk. I can’t blame all this on the pandemic, but the pandemic certainly accelerated the changes.
4. I’d never worn a face mask before the pandemic. Now, I keep a few in my purse at all times, and more in the car. Plus, a bag by the door to the garage. I wore a mask all the time when the mandates were in place. Even now that the mask mandates have been lifted, I whip one out most of the time when I’m in a public setting. So many of our appointments are in medical facilities where they are required. But when I have a big event I MUST attend (like traveling to my daughter’s wedding), I wear a mask in the weeks leading up to the occasion. All of this means I can almost always think of a reason to wear a mask.
5. My husband and I used to eat dinner out at least once a week and usually more. Plus a lunch or two each week. And I scheduled a few lunches with friends each month. The pandemic put a screeching halt to meals out, though we did manage take-out meals from our favorite restaurants every couple of weeks. As restaurants reopened, my husband and I resumed an occasional lunch. But dinners have been a lost cause, other than take-out. Again, it’s not all the pandemic’s fault we haven’t resumed—medical issues have contributed. But the pandemic was the turning point.
6. We used to travel freely whenever we wanted. We had a European trip planned for May 2020 that the pandemic caused to be cancelled. After travel restrictions were lifted, we couldn’t plan another trip due to health reasons. The pandemic probably put a premature halt to most of our adventures.

So many changes. The world is a different place than it was two and a half years ago. And we are different people. Will these changes continue indefinitely? Permanently? Only time will tell.

How has the pandemic changed your life?