opinion: lifting restrictions won't instantly bring back our joie de vivre
maybe i'll eventually get excited for the summer ahead, but right now i'm still wary of what the future holds.
may 25 2021
3 minute read
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by: saleema nawaz, special to montreal gazette
the countdown is on. this friday promises to be the most epic tgif that montreal has ever seen. the curfew we’ve endured since jan. 9 is set to be lifted and outdoor dining (with restrictions) is slated to resume . there could even be a game 6 against the leafs at the bell centre the following night with up to 2,500 people in attendance . well … we’ll see.
but hockey outlook aside, there are plenty of reasons to feel positive. covid-19 numbers seem to be trending downwards, and i’ve got a qr code proof of my first vaccination on my phone. the potential excitement for the coming de-confinement calls to mind a recent commercial for extra gum in which scruffy, socially isolated citizens celebrate the return of normal life to the stirring strains of céline dion’s it’s all coming back to me now. elated strangers in pyjamas and bathrobes make out in the park and — somewhat harder to believe — jubilant workers dash back to their office towers. as the ad trended several weeks ago, many remarked online that they burst into tears watching this staged reopening.
josh freed described it in these pages as “astonishingly moving .” i merely registered a detached curiosity as to how the producers ensured the safety of the participating actors . truly, i felt nothing.
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it’s possible i’m languishing.
an article published last month in the new york times outlined this pervasive feeling of blah, comparing it to its opposite: flourishing. and though the word languishing calls to mind fainting couches and hot compresses, in montreal terms it may simply mean living without our city’s famous joie de vivre .
i can’t say for sure what the cure might be, but i have figured out exactly what it isn’t: trying on summer clothes after 14 months of sitting around eating chips. but maybe i can pick up some muumuus somewhere. maybe summer 2021 will be the summer of the muumuu. say it with me: summer of the muumuu.
another cure might be grabbing a drink with a friend, but i doubt this will restore my joie — not when i’m busy worrying whether my 5-à-7 on a packed terrasse might in any way contribute to the continued proliferation of the virus. though the odds of outdoor transmission seem low, the variants of concern remain concerning, plexiglas notwithstanding.
if i was less risk-averse, perhaps i wouldn’t hesitate. and if i was a single person in my 20s, i might feel differently. but parents of small children and those living in proximity to the immunocompromised can’t so easily forget that millions of quebecers are not yet immunized , nor it is likely that a single dose of the vaccine will completely curb transmission. in other words, low risk doesn’t mean no risk, and my longing for a dirty martini still doesn’t outweigh my desire not to contract or transmit a potentially deadly virus.
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and the past 14 months have had an effect. we have seen firsthand how reopening is largely a political — not a scientific — decision. for me, the painful memories of last summer are still too fresh, when the government went ahead with reopening instead of pressing for elimination. given the vaccine rollout, i know this summer is bound to be a different story, but the feelings of dread and disillusionment remain. no matter how resilient we might be, many of us have changed — and the way we see the world may have changed along with us.
given everything we’ve been through , perhaps we shouldn’t expect the joie to come bouncing right back. maybe it’s enough if it slowly begins to rise like a sourdough starter.
whether you’re eager to get back into the swing of things or simply more cautious or practically numb, let’s be kind to one another. by all means, enjoy the pleasures of the reopening, but don’t be offended if a friend isn’t yet ready to meet up for drinks or attend your birthday barbecue. and please, let’s all stay outside, keep our eyes on the prize , and try to get off the reopening-closing hamster wheel.
i’m on the verge of getting excited, i swear. and i might almost be ready to get together with a vaccinated friend later this summer in a backyard. nearly. just as soon as i get that muumuu.
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