Four months ago, a full parking lot wouldn’t have caused my blood pressure to spike. Four months ago, I would have taken to the crowded pathway at Lafayette Heritage Trail Park like a horse to pasture, reveling in the outdoor exercise and rare time away from my new baby. Four months ago, I wouldn’t have mentally counted the distance between me and every person who passed by, the words “six feet, six feet, six feet” pounding through my brain like a cult mantra.

But it wasn’t four months ago, it was mid-June, 2020, mid-COVID-19 pandemic. The week before I had tried to walk this trail with my parents and son in the baby jogger, but the constant need to veer off the pathway to avoid those less observant of CDC guidance made the experience more stressful than enjoyable.

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