Happy hour with neighbors
One of the strangest things about the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic was how different it felt from more “normal” disaster responses. Because of the nature of a communicable virus, we were shy about banding together in the way we normally might after a fire or flood, for example. But humans are social creatures and we soon figured out workarounds – forming social “pods” and finding ways to gather, safely and at a distance, outdoors. Into this ecosystem emerged a new tradition: Happy hour with neighbors. Finding a social outlet with people outside your household, and getting a reminder that you’re not alone in any of the stress or anxiety or joy or pain that came with this unprecedented experience, proved to be a saving grace. And hey, maybe you even got some new friends out of it – they’ll be there to help you through the next disaster, or to celebrate good times.