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It’s been more than a year since most of us have seen at least some aspect of our lives turned upside down by the arrival of COVID-19.

For me, it’s been the inability to spend time with family and friends in person that has had the greatest impact. This past year, we were not able to spend time with my dad at Thanksgiving or Christmas due to COVID concerns because of his serious health conditions stemming from a heart transplant. While he’s doing well, his immune system is still at risk, which caused us to take steps to be extra cautious.

The same goes for friends. Many of the friends we regularly spend time with have battled COVID on at least a minor basis, while others have had serious cases and struggled for some time following their illness. Getting back together in person recently has been special, and we have cherished the time even more knowing what it’s like to lose it.

For some, our work has changed. Some who used to work in an office now work from home, while others have lost jobs altogether. For others, we have been forbidden to participate in our hobbies because of changes in the operation of some businesses; we haven’t been able to travel like we once did, go to concerts or sporting events, and other activities.

There have been many other changes, including some positive ones. While not being able to spend time with some family and friends, I have found myself spending more time, and more quality time, with my immediate family. It’s been nice to treasure those times together that we might have taken for granted in the past like enjoying home-cooked meals, binge-watching TV series, and just being there for and with each other. At times in the past, it was easy to be busy, running here and there and missing out on these things, or even if we were doing them, failing to appreciate them.

As we start to hopefully emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic it will be interesting to see how life changes going forward. Some of the things we’ve come to know as our “new normal” during the pandemic will undoubtedly become part of our everyday lives from now on, while others may not. Hopefully, we will continue to spend that time with our families and friends, realizing just how special it is and how we can have it taken away at any moment.

How about you? Have you seen drastic changes, or have you chosen to make them yourself? We here at the paper would love to hear from you in the form of a brief note, a  letter to the editor, or even a guest column, about how you’ve seen changes that will make life as you know it different from now on, or maybe how you will approach things in your own life. Email me at jeff.moreland@bluegrassnewsmedia.com to share about how your life has changed, or will change when the pandemic is over.