We don’t live the same anymore.

We measure time in cases and bodies — yesterday the world crossed over a million positive tests; tomorrow, we may see ten thousand dead in America. We stay up as late as we want and sleep when our restless minds allow. We wake when we feel, or if duty compels, we make an effort to work our way through the day.

We don’t live the same anymore.

We ask each other how we are doing and listen for the answer. We wave to neighbors from the safety of our porches. We check in with friends who were feeling down. We worry over friends who were might be sick. We pray over people we never met who are very ill. We take a lot less for granted.

We don’t live the same anymore.

We learn to live with the paranoia. We cross the street when we see someone headed our way. We pull scarves over our faces when we go to the store. We don’t even go to the store anymore. We reach for the thermometer if we start to cough.

We don’t live the same anymore.

We trade places with our parents. We ground them to their rooms and forbid them from leaving the house. We call to check on them every night. We teach them how to use technology so we can see them from afar. We secretly fear we will never get to see them in person again.

We don’t live the same anymore.

We watch the news when we know we shouldn’t. We talk about how we should come together even though we are falling apart. We point a lot of fingers and solve no problems. We wonder how this all will end and who we will be when we get there.

We don’t live the same anymore.

We remember the things our grandparents knew. We recall how to bake. We harness our own yeast if we need to. We sew masks. We talk about planting vegetable gardens when the weather turns warm. We teach our children at home.

We don’t live the same anymore.

We marvel at the money we save. We cook our meals in our own kitchens. We pinch pennies. Our companies have laid us off. We are shocked that the price of gas has been cut in half. We have nowhere to drive. We watch as the government argues about how much money to send us.

We don’t live the same anymore.

We wonder if we ever will.