Reminding myself about life under COVID - Day 187

 Normalcy is returning, at least a bit. I think most of that is because I'm busy, which is a way of preventing me from thinking about things I miss.

Work has slowed slightly, but with a few longer term project things to work on, I feel like I have plenty to do. Last week was our internal conference, which is something I'd watch remote anyway. It was nice to see different faces, and some engaging discussions. I had hoped to go watch it live sometime, but clearly not this year.

Volleyball is getting going, 3 days a week, so it keeps me busy and occupied as I start to plan and work on how to build skills and compete. We're starting to schedule tournaments, and are looking at some out of town travel for the spring, so that feels somewhat normal. 

At the same time, we wearing masks all the time. The girls pull them down a lot, but I try to set an example, and remind them competition is with masks for now. That's strange, and it's annoying. I still am not used to masks, and I notice the strangeness of seeing people everywhere in masks.

On the positive side, the weather has remained good, even after snow last week, and I'm still swimming once a week. This reminds me of last year, and I appreciate every chance I get to get into the pool. Yoga is outside as well, only 2 classes inside this summer, and those weren't horrible, but not great.

However, the need to wear a mask walking in, through the indoor pool, etc. is just strange.

I'm starting to think about travel. The latest list shows 45 countries we can visit as Americans. I sent it to my wife and then scanned the list. Mostly Med/Caribbean coutries, but a few interesting ones. Kenya is open, which is on our bucket list. I scanned tickets for Jan, and they were reasonable. I think in a month we might just book the trip. That would be neat, and while that means I a new country this year, next year would be a country and continent.

I'm also ready to book a trip to the East Coast and visit family. 

Overall, I am focused more on today and this week, which helps me to avoid thinking about the long term likelihood of working like this.