Congratulations to the schools that have taught in the pandemic, first remotely then usually back in person. And with Maine Center for Disease Control’s new blessing on masks going optional, that is something to celebrate and stay cautious with.

Just as local towns and businesses have over time moved back to or toward their pre-pandemic modes, so too are we starting to see this in the schools, like in Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit’s announcement on the optional masking. As the other school departments see fit or not, in their own time, let’s be glad and, again, still cautious and flexible. With its variants, COVID has had more than one life. 

Keep the boosters coming if and when needed.

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I will take any spring-like day, in December or, in recent days, February. At press time, that was about to change again for the Midcoast, especially starting Friday, but some of us are hoping otherwise. Either way, winter’s days are numbered: 23 days until spring, according to daysuntilspring.net. What a lovely name for a website.