While COVID-19 can still be a serious illness like pneumonia or the flu, the pandemic as we experienced it several years ago is over.

It was not too long ago, however, that masks were part of our daily lives and new phrases came into existence, like social distancing and contact tracing, which is letting people know you were exposed to COVID. We quickly had to master the art of meetings held via Zoom and many people began working at home.

During the pandemic, we were not allowed to walk the mall, visit our loved ones in the hospital or at a retirement community, dine out at a restaurant, get our hair cut at the salon or go to church. Brides and grooms had to cancel weddings, and many businesses suffered because they could not be open. Only cardboard cutouts were allowed to attend professional sports games.

For students, the pandemic meant no in-person classes, no senior prom, no class trips. I remember my son doing jumping jacks in the kitchen during virtual gym class.

We stopped shaking hands; we loaded up on hand sanitizer. And there was a shortage of everyday necessities like toilet paper and bread. The only outings we were allowed to enjoy, which became the highlight of the day, were trips to the grocery store, where the aisles were marked "one way" with arrows on the floor.

Our focus was on the dreaded color-coded system of shutdown. Red meant nothing was open, while yellow meant that things eased up a bit and green was the "oh, happy day" phase when businesses were allowed to reopen. This system varied state by state. I personally know two women who took a road trip to West Virginia one weekend to have their hair cut because that state went yellow before Pennsylvania did.

There are still positive remnants of the pandemic that have not left us. Much of what we did to pass the time during the lockdown has thankfully become part of everyday life today. Many people continue to focus on family activities like putting together puzzles or breaking out the old board games like Monopoly, Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit.

We continue to walk our dogs a lot, along the way meeting neighbors with their dogs, including neighbors from surrounding streets. We continue to visit local historic sites and parks that we discovered while on lockdown. We have found many a walking path in the area around scenic streams and waterways. Some of us have continued with the hobbies that were resurrected during the pandemic, including crocheting or knitting or doing crafts.

We continue to Zoom with friends and relatives from out of state as a way to keep in touch. Virtual church also continues to be an option, which provides an option for people who are elderly, are unable to drive or are home recovering from an illness to attend Sunday services.

The pandemic taught us how to pivot, which became a popular word during the time, and to make the most of the resources we had at home. It also taught us to appreciate living each and every day.

Although life is not perfect, today we can shop anywhere we want at stores with well-stocked shelves, attend church, visit loved ones, marry the love of our life, go out for a bite to eat or an ice cream sundae, take in a Phillies game or make an in-person appointment with a doctor when we are not feeling well. Students can attend classes in person, play sports and enjoy the senior prom. Best of all, we can get our hair cut without a trip to West Virginia.