Comfort (and the Importance of Bacon)

As we neared the two-week mark after our second vaccine, I wondered, Now what? So it was with great interest that John and I listened to Dr. Walensky from the CDC outline just what being fully vaccinated means. An expanded, albeit cautious, social life would be possible. And that meant a change in our lifestyle.

While I was pondering the word style, I thought it would be a good to have a twirl through my wardrobe. Going though my drawers and closet, I wondered, Will I ever wear that again? Living in the land of stretchy pants, where a pair of Levi’s feels dressed up, I wonder about my linen, chino, and Tencil pants—in other words, pants without the comfy elastic waistband. Then there are the stylish tops and jackets that could replace my T-shirts and sweatshirts …

Later in the day, looking over the almost blank calendar, I noticed a trip to the dentist was coming up. The day arrived, and as I showered, I ran my hand over my bristly chin. I didn’t think too much of it … until I remembered the dentist is the one place where you show the bottom half of your face—including chin and upper lip. A post-shower tweezing took care of that. Unfortunately, it required the 10x magnifying mirror. 

Now … what should I wear? I ended up dressing in a fairly new rayon top in a stylish color, with a pair of Levi’s and a coordinating cardigan. Everything fit, so that was a relief, but the real test came when I got home. Would I spend the remainder of the day in flats, or would I get out the UGGs? And what about spending the entire day in denim—with a zipper and button, no less? Back home I lasted about an hour in my “fancy clothes” before I succumbed to the call of comfort.

Speaking of comfort, we have prepared and eaten an inordinate amount of comfort food the past year, including “forbidden” things like sticky barbecue; pasta and meat with rich, complex sauces; and even bacon! Plus, I discovered the joy of baking again: coffee cakes, cookies, and fragrant loaves of bread to go with John’s homemade jam.

Don’t get me wrong, we still ate salads and veggies and fruit. They just took a backseat. Now I’m wondering if they will leap back into the driver’s seat in the daily menu simply because we don’t have the time or interest to prepare beef bourguignon, tiramisu, and homemade potato salad (with bacon, of course).

And will we still argue about who “gets” to go to the market? Or will we resume our pre-pandemic “It’s your turn.” And will the shopper come home with uninspired items like boneless, skinless, tasteless chicken breast, a bag of salad, and a skinny bag of tasteless commercial cookies nestled among a week’s supply of vegetables and fruit? Will the days of grocery bags crammed with Ghirardelli dark-chocolate chips, heavy whipping cream, Marcona almonds, fresh pasta, baguettes and Irish butter, marbled beef, whole chickens, and, of course, bacon be gone?

You may think from reading the above that all we did this past year was cook and eat. Not true. We also ran the dishwasher and emptied it (a downside to all that cooking). But we have also enjoyed nature in a more thoughtful way. And we have read, read, read. Not only that, but we have had some pretty deep conversations … at least, we did until two little creatures entered our lives and turned them upside down …

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So what will stay, and what will change? I’m sitting at the dining room table in my leopard-print sweats, with my knee-high UGGS on, watching the sun rise above the mountains. Taking a sip of my freshly ground Guatemalan coffee laced with cream, I briefly think about the future. What will we have for dinner? And maybe we could invite a few vaccinated friends or family members over for dinner this week … Now that’s food for thought!