Last week was my spring break from my graduate education. My husband and I headed to Washington, D.C. It's about 10 degrees warmer in D.C. than it is in Connecticut. And I thought, why not? The five-hour journey was not too bad, and a long weekend to rest was a good plan. Let's get out, walk around, maybe see some cherry blossoms. We didn't see cherry blossoms, but we did see a surprising number of tourists - considering many federal buildings won't open until April 15 of this year. And at the time I booked the trip, we didn't know the open dates at all. We simply sought warmer weather and a good road trip with no expectation of seeing the typical Washington D.C. sights. Like all the tourists, we didn't know when this great city would be available to us again, but happily, there was a lot to do, and we were able to see a lot of friendly, relaxed, smiling faces.

It's been two straight years of mask-wearing, and to actually see facial expressions openly again was a pleasant shock. To our surprise given that the Omicron surge seems just a moment ago, the mask mandate in D.C. was lifted. Yet, this week, we went into The Smithsonian Museum of Natural History surrounded by crowds, many without masks, while in closer proximity than I'd been used to. There was less judgment and no mask-policing, which felt strange at first. I'm used to keeping my distance from people, so I put my mask back on just in case in many moments - and then I would quickly feel a little embarrassed and silly. It definitely didn't seem like the cool thing to do. Nonetheless, as we walked around the city, undoubtedly, many people did not have masks with them at all. And later in the weekend, we experienced our first concert in what seemed like an eternity. In concert venues in Washington D.C., guests must have proof of vaccination but no masks. So we stood in line and were the only mask wearers while waiting to be scanned, and again, it felt a little odd. But, happily so. And I asked myself – are we done? Is the pandemic finally over?

When we sat down in our seats, that seemed to be the case. Both our seat neighbors on either side asked if it was okay that they not put on a mask, and there was no way with the food and drink that anyone would be able to wear one anyway. So it seems we've turned a corner. And this leads to my question, once again:

Is the pandemic over?

I've consulted some sources (Hello, Google!) and asked my question, "Is the pandemic over?". I found that I clearly wasn't the only one. Several news outlets had articles headlined with precisely the same question. But it really comes down to this - What is the measure of over? Is it when no one gets sick anymore? Or is it when we live life freely as before? Common sense dictates this answer… "No one really knows." It's likely a historian, decades from now, will choose the demarcation that will come to be known as the pandemic's end, as these things are often understood only in hindsight. Many states in America are not re-upping their mask mandates. Many states are no longer applying for emergency federal aid. But certainly, that's not the truth for everyone or every population, everywhere.

The United Nations News recently quoted, in their article entitled "Two years on, COVID-19 pandemic 'far from over' ", Director Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus of The World Health Organization (WHO) as saying, "Although reported cases and deaths are declining globally, and several countries have lifted restrictions, the pandemic is far from over – and it will not be over anywhere until it's over everywhere." You can read the article here.

Conversely, Pew Researchers Reports' article entitled "Two Years Into the Pandemic, Americans Inch Closer to a New Normal" by John Gramlich stated that in-person learning, the loosening of mask mandates, the 75% vaccination rate of adults – all point to a creeping towards normalcy that will be upon us soon even if recovery is (in Gramlich's words), "uneven." This article can be found here.

Whether one leans towards the UN/WHO perspective or grounds their pandemic attitudes on the idea that it is over when Americans recover (i.e., exceptionalism), it seems that crisis burnout is leading each of us to move on with our lives in a more relaxed way than before.

And so, while we may never have a definitive answer as to when the pandemic is over, maybe the answer lies in the reality we choose, based on our hearts and minds and cemented by our families' situational and spiritual needs. There are no easy answers. For me, a concert felt like glorious medicine. I know for me, I'm ready for what's next. I will be cautious, heed advice but start making more ambitious plans.

See More Highlights from this Washington D.C. Visit on The Seen & Heard Page