“When this COVID mess is over, we need to get together!” I will bet that we all have had many similar conversations with friends and relatives. For me, the frequency of these has increased since the vaccine announcements, and some now suggest tentative dates.

I will need months to honor all these promises. The sheer number of engagements we have all planned will mean busy restaurants and mandatory reservations. Highways and parking lots will be more crowded, but we will welcome all that cheerfully.

Or will we? This morning, my mind took a pessimistic turn. Is it when or if?

Consider all the mask deniers we still have. Add that we don’t know how long the vaccine will remain effective and that the virus has already mutated and will mutate again. And then, of course, we have all the people who will refuse to be vaccinated.

Is it almost over?