A New Way of Life. Part 4: We All Need Community

I don’t know about you, but as lockdown in the UK eases in stages, I’ve noticed that my enthusiasm to get stuck into the ‘new normal’ means that I have both lost some old fears alongside the very real struggle to even walk in a straight line! Take the dentist, while some people don’t mind it, I don’t know anyone that genuinely loves it. I’m definitely in the “I don’t like it, but I have to do it” camp. So last Thursday I went to the dentist, yes that’s right, I peered out of my window, walked over to my car, pushed the button and moved off my driveway with a purpose. After having my temperature taken and declaring that I had not eaten any COVID-19 samples that morning I proceeded to talk, and talk, and talk. My dentist, the receptionist and I proceeded to put lots of wrongs right and stood there for 20 minutes before we remembered why we were all there. The actual visit was fine (I have clean teeth!) but it made me think about how much we all miss those daily interactions that keep us sane. I might not like the things a dentist does but I like my dentist and I like the community that it sits within. I miss that and for my very own sanity I need it. Talking of community, the next place that I am praying to open is the gym. It’s where I go to have someone shout at me and tell me I need to do more. It sounds weird but I definitely need it. Just last week I was out playing golf and clearly unable to put one foot in front of the other. As a result I ended up falling onto the floor for no real reason, with my golf clubs on my back like an upended tortoise. With my arms unable to move because of the rucksack style carry case I suddenly realised what it might be like to be a T-Rex, short arms and absolutely no way of getting back on my feet without the help of others. Luckily my playing partners put their risk of COVID-19 to one side and didn’t let me fall into extinction like the poor T-Rex but helped me to my feet and proceeded to laugh (a lot). So what I am saying is that I suppose I have truly missed being part of a community. Whether that is the dentist, the gym, my golf buddies etc. they all make up my very own personal community and I really do hope that we can see more of them start to come back soon.