Paris Goodnight: Catching up after putting things off

Published 12:00 am Sunday, May 22, 2022

Now that the primary is behind us, we can think of all the things we had to put off until tomorrow that we couldn’t do today.

Around here, letters to the editor about candidates filled most waking hours and the biggest chunk of space on our Opinion pages. I look back and think of the things that got put off and it reminds of all that got bumped aside during the darkest days as COVID-19 reared its ugly head.

Doctors’ offices weren’t the easiest places to get into then, and plenty of routine care visits were put on hold while health care professionals tried their best to mend those hit hardest by the bug. I know that was not good for any of us. I suffered quietly — well, at least in my mind I did — when I had a tick try to take a chunk out of me, then had to jump through so many hoops to get in to see a doctor that I thought the ravages of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever or Lyme disease couldn’t be any worse. When I finally did get an appointment, a round of antibiotics knocked out the worst of the symptoms promptly and just made me that much more upset at the hurdles put up from getting those pills that worked their magic so easily once I started taking them.

Plenty of other normal maintenance activities probably fell by the wayside and that’s not good for any of us, whether it’s man or machine. If any of those things that have been bumped to the back burner are still hanging around, if we can catch our breath at some point, let’s get on with clearing them from our checklists.

A few columns that writers sent our way earlier have already been made their way into print and as we move forward, hopefully more will come rolling in.

I had some thoughts of writing a column for Mother’s Day, but had to put that off as pages filled up with other more pressing things. Maybe those ideas will be better after mellowing a year.

Another tale that will have to be told later is the power of having a good traveling companion. If you’ve got plans for the summer to take off to some faraway land, I’m sure it will be a much better adventure if you’re going with someone who makes the miles and days go by easier just by having them along for the ride.

There always seems to be something that clogs up the system when you least expect it, but as soon as we can get whatever that is under control and move back to more normal routines, everybody will be in better humor.

I know I am as the backyard berries get closer to being ripe and the tomatoes start to grow on vines reaching a little higher with the temperatures edging up into the 90s. I was outside enjoying some of that May sun when my daughter sent a photo of what she looked like after running around in the heat down east. My reply picture to her made her say we looked like twins with sweat rolling into our eyes.

I’d say we’re both in better shape for getting a little of that natural vitamin D and staying out of the air conditioning for a bit. But I was also happy to get back to the inside routine, as was my pup, who has to put up with the humidity long before the real dog days of summer arrive for good.

Paris Goodnight is interim editor of the Salisbury Post.