Editor’s note: Karen Harris Tully is a writer who lives in Raymond and has agreed to keep a journal to share with Daily World readers during the odd and uncertain time we’re all navigating.
Dear Journal:
Things aren’t always working out the way I want them to these days. For instance, I’m cutting out sugar, but I still want sweets. And my son wanted to make gummi bears the way they made them at school, which happened to be sugar-free, and easy. So, of course, we tried it. Our first batch was made from an internet recipe, of which there are a lot. It was like thick jello, but oily because we’d used too much non-stick spray to get them out of the ice cube trays. Not great. For our next batch, I ordered silicone bear trays and asked for the recipe from school, but somehow we used too much water and they were like jigglers. For our third batch we used half the water and they were closer, but my son still declared them “not the same.” Like the sugar-free chocolate almonds I tried, sweetened with maltitol. They taste great! I love them! Maybe a little too much. As I found out, maltitol will make anyone run for the bathroom. They’re definitely not the same.
Many things are not the same right now. I’d really like to pretend for one evening that everything was back to normal. I’d love to go on a date with my husband to one of our favorite restaurants and not wear a mask or think about germs and risk levels. I’m sure after a drink or two I wouldn’t be caring about any of that. Stores and restaurants may have reopened to save our economy, but that doesn’t mean being around a bunch of people not wearing masks is safe. Reopening does not equal back to normal, as much as we want it to be. But perhaps we’re finding our way to a new normal.
I’d love to see people in our small town and not think about what they’ve posted on Facebook. There’s a reason our parents used to say, “We don’t talk about politics, religion, or money.” Or race. That was the unspoken one. Once we started talking about important things online, it’s hard to look at people the same way. It’s the difference between keeping the peace and standing up for what’s right. It’s hard to have it both ways. But instead of ignoring important issues to keep an unjust peace, maybe we are on a better path of learning to talk about them. Like sugar-free sugar, we can’t always get what we want in this life. But right now, I hope we’re getting what we need.
Song of the day: You Can’t Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones
Karen Harris Tully is a novelist living in Raymond with her husband and two small children. She writes sci-fi/fantasy for teens and adults and can be found at www.karenharristully.com.
