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By Tish Harrison Warren

Opinion Writer

One thing I didn’t fully acknowledge when these Covid-19 years began is how habit forming they would turn out to be. I write and think about daily practices and habits often, but as my family and I went into lockdown two years ago, I did not fully consider how this necessary but radical shift in how we live, work and interact with others would shape us as individuals and as a society.

With nearly one million lives lost to Covid-19 in the United States, the last two years have been staggering and heart-wrenching. Now, with the widespread availability of effective vaccines, some people are eager to move forward, some feel guilty or unsure about moving forward, and some think it’s still too early and risky to move forward.

Yet across the nation, it feels like things are changing. I don’t expect there to be a Covid victory parade anytime soon, and there is still work to do to fight Covid and prepare for potential future surges in the United States. But many people are returning to activities they have avoided for two years. The majority of American schools are back to in-person instruction. Sports events, concerts and communal gatherings like church services and weddings are also increasingly being held in person. The Times’s David Leonhardt reported earlier this month that U.S. Covid rates have fallen 95 percent since mid-January. Things seem to be going back to — well, I won’t call it a new normal, because we are all tired of that term. But we seem to be at an inflection point.

As we enter a new season, it is wise to take some time to think about the habits and practices we’ve picked up — however intentionally or unintentionally — over the past couple of years.

Many of us have developed habits of isolation and worry. These likely contribute to social crises like rises in murder, overdoses and traffic deaths. They also manifest themselves in more pedestrian ways, like increased loneliness, anxiety, social animosity and fatigue from constant risk calculation.

Yet I suspect most of us have also picked up some good habits and practices that we want to carry with us into the days ahead. Some of these may be related to disease prevention — like diligence about hand washing or wearing masks when traveling. Others may be unexpected gifts that emerged in these hard years that bring health, and even joy, in more holistic ways.

As I reflect on the past two years, I think of (at least) three practices that my family and I have taken up that I hope we continue. First, in the early days of the pandemic, when my family of five abruptly found ourselves crammed into a small house, we developed a practice of having tea around 4:30 each weekday afternoon. With cookies, Earl Grey, juice for the kids and sometimes a shot of bourbon for the adults, we talked about what worked and didn’t work that day. We would ask one another, “Who do you need to apologize to or reconcile with today?”

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