Back to Normal

We all yearn for life to get "back to normal." The problem is that there is actually no normal to get back to and there never was. Life is always in flux, there are just times when it's more apparent than others.

I was at Harris Teeter yesterday and noted gaps in many of the same categories as I had seen them last time: there were fewer varieties of Triscuits and also what we call "shelf juice," V8 products and the like. We are particularly keen on things like Carrot-Orange and Peach-Mango that we put in our OJ in the morning just for a little variety.

And yet... visitors from almost any other place in the world at any moment in history would be astonished by the breadth and variety of what's available to us. This was most marked in the responses of people visiting from behind the Iron Curtain back in the 70s-90s, but it remains true. There is so much stuff available to us. For me at least, the slight constraints put on the fulfillment of the most granular of my  heart's desires serves to remind and reinforce my appreciation of what I have.

Same thing with Christmas. There is all this hand-wringing and fear about major retailers not being able to get in presents for peak shopping season. Oh well. Let it remind us and small children everywhere of what they have. Perhaps they will give more and more thoughtfully.

There are real problems for sure. Major backsliding of literacy rates amongst lower-income kids throughout America and the world from remote schooling. That's a real problem. Let us be thankful for our schools and teachers, and I'm proud that it looks like Natalie will join them.