5 COVID Things We Thought Were Temporary But Became Permanent

We are now in the third spring of the coronavirus pandemic and back in 2020 we thought that we would be on lockdown and having to follow protocols for a few weeks. We baked too much banana bread, bought too much gym equipment, and enjoyed the break from having to go into the office.

THAT WAS THEN THIS IS NOW
Now that we are in the third year of the pandemic, some of the things that used to be weird to the vast majority of America are now thing that we can't imagine doing without. Here are a few of those things:

1. Shopping online - Yes, we were heading toward doing more shopping online but it was mostly for stuff like clothes or gifts. When the pandemic hit, we suddenly started getting used to delivery groceries and food from restaurants other than pizza. Now delivery of almost anything you can think of it rapidly becoming the norm and not the exception.

2. Curbside pickup - For people who didn't want to pay a delivery fee, driving up to a store or restaurant and getting an order put into our cars was totally weird when the pandemic first started but now a convenience that we've come to rely on.

3. Streaming services - Sure, we had streaming services before the pandemic, but when everyone was stuck at home with only cable to watch, streaming services got very popular because of the sheer number of shows and movies available. There's no turning back now - Netflix and chill has become Netflix and don't go while stuck at home.

4. Blowing birthday candles out - Not sure if we are ever going to be not ooged out by the idea of someone blowing their breath onto a cake we are about to eat.

5. Salad bars and buffets - These troughs o'food were always a little sketchy anyway even without an airborne illness surrounding us but now they seem almost quaint. Even in the land of the endless buffets, Las Vegas, still hasn't reopened their buffets. Will those be gone for good? I can't say I would miss them.