My diet for the past 6 months has consisted of whatever my mother makes for dinner, dozens of frozen meals, and very, very little eating out. Covid changed everything about the way we live, from exercising, socializing, and even dining. 

Restaurants had to adapt and for months had to serve guests only by allowing take out.

Now, places have slowly started opening back up and allowing diners inside. The most common Covid procedures that restaurants are taking are placing guests at tables a minimum of six feet apart or having outdoor dining areas. Masks are always required besides when eating and there is constant sanitation happening everywhere. 

My 17th birthday just passed and for the first time in months my family decided to dine out. Together, we went to 30hop in Coralville and witnessed many of the procedures listed above happening in front of our eyes. 

It was quite strange at first, but eventually it felt like normal again. We sat outside at dusk and enjoyed a warm summer night. We were quite a distance away from other diners but could still hear some small chatter. The food was delicious and it was nice to spend some quality time with my family out in public again. 

Although I did miss seeing the smile from our waitress and staff at the restaurant. It was quite awkward and unusual at first. Before COVID when you went out to eat, there would be the bustling of people, much more chatter, diners and large dining parties mingling with each other, the ambience of music in the background. But now, there was almost none of that. 

I did miss the normalcy. But it was nice to be out again and around some people (socially distanced of course). I did realize that this would be the new normal for a while, and it was just something that we would have to adapt to.