Take a moment to look at this recent photo which is the reunion of a father and his daughter at the Seattle Tacoma Airport after an eighteen-month gap. If you look closely at their respective eyes, one can see the happiness, relief and the weariness of not having been able to get together for this extended period of time. Obviously, the pandemic prevented them from seeing each other and in that time this man had not the opportunity to meet his new grandson who is now one year old or visit with his four-year-old granddaughter. More about this photo a little later.
This goes along with the world’s nascent opening including those of us in New York City where we’re headed for a “full opening” on May 19th. What this might actually mean and what it will actually look like is still up for grabs and speculation, but in all respects, businesses and general life are at the beginning stages of a return to normalcy. With this there is also the understanding that this will be a “new” normal and at least we’re headed there.
Along these openings, I had my first in-person meetings in the city for the first time in over a year including my first visit to midtown Manhattan. These encounters were with RELPI Community Members J.D. Sitton, Hines; Ferhat Guyven, DOMAIN and Jonathan Ross, Migdal as well as Michael Chen, Madison International Group. And what did these meetings all have in common? First, they were outdoors, but more importantly, we were able to move onto substantive talks about both professional and personal matters that may not have occurred in the past. In other words, this new normal may also include a much more robust and deeper dialogue we’ve not had in the past. And this is good news for the business world in general as we have so much more to learn from each other through these connections.
As for the photo, this happens to by my 89-year-old dad who made the flight from New York and my sister who finally got to hug after way too of a long wait.
Yes, it’s slow going, but we’re getting there, visit by visit.