Leaving Home, and Returning to It
New ways to fill the days.
Tulips in bloom at Sheridan Square in Manhattan.Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times
April 28, 2021
Welcome. When the world opens up more, will we have less time? I was chatting with some of my colleagues about this last week, how the absence of a commute has led, some days, to a more spacious schedule, one with time to fold laundry between meetings, to walk the dog at lunch. Brian Hogan, a barber in suburban Des Moines, built a video store in his basement.
We have the same amount of time, but, gradually, more experiences with which to fill it. Mask mandates eased slightly, an afternoon stroll becomes an adventure. I lingered, a few days ago, snapping photos from every angle of a preposterous red tulip with petals larger than my palm. Why had I never noticed the distinct, nearly psychedelic shades of pink advertised by the cherry, dogwood and magnolia trees on my block? Ezra Marcus investigated the seeming proliferation of breathtaking blooms this year. “Have the tulips changed, or have we?” he asked.