Yesterday I did something I haven’t in over a year. I spent some quality time with my youngest daughter during the week. Pre-pandemic, I would get her every Wednesday. We would have a bit of a date night, and then go back to my house. It was short, but always sweet. Time I loved and appreciated.
We went to a place we used to go all the time, Steak N Shake. We both wanted to see the changes they announced. It sadly all was true. I have hundreds of photos of her at Steak N Shake over the years. I called them “Still life at Steak N Shake.” Often times showing a happy girl wearing the infamous paper hat. After yesterday, that experience is and has died.
We then went to the Hawaiian Shaved Ice place just down the road. A place I remember fondly when it was just a temporary “shack” on a trailer, a place where I first asked a girl out.
We then just drove around the big city of Bedford while waiting on her Volleyball game. She was going to play the sport last year, after her first practice everything was cancelled, it broke her heart – but she understood.
I’ve been telling and teasing her for years that her great-great grandparents are buried right next to her school and the Limestone Boys & Girls Club. Due to the family photos I’ve been going through, I was able to somewhat triangulate the exact location. I don’t even recall going to it, so I had no memory either.
Ever since her move, 30 miles away from the only place she knew of as home it’s been important to me to show her that she has roots in her new hometown. My great-grandparents are the core of our roots in Bedford, as they moved our family there in 1920, when my grandma was a baby and the last time our world was experiencing a pandemic.
We then kept just driving around, experiencing things I had not seen before. Amelia was calling me a stalker, as I drove 20mph down city streets taking in the variety of home types and styles.
We then headed back to the Boys & Girls club, as she had photos to take and two games to play. This is where the stark contrast between our communities showed themselves.
Monroe county still has a mask mandate, Lawrence county however does not. When entering this secondary gym, there was a sign that said masks had to be worn inside the building – with a box of masks available. Some wore them, myself included. The vast majority did not however.
The gym where the games were played was packed, with the stands not having any room to spare. There was also a line just to get into the gym.
I was able to find a chair to sit in, off by myself. I stuck around for her first game but decided to leave at the end of it. I’m not sure if I have mask anxiety or what. What I do know however is that until we as a country are ~70% vaccinated, I will be nervous when I do not see masks outside of my own family bubble.