Here is the 'new normal'. An almost relaxed place with hairdos, sit-down meals and permission to travel outside county bounds.
As families reunite and we emerge from months of lockdown, perceptions on what we should do now and into the future to continue the suppression of the coronavirus has brought us to a crossroads.
At this junction there are two groups. Gone in one direction is a group prepared to take risks they dared not to before. In the other, are people concerned about a second Covid-19 wave, the actions of others and calling for an end to foreign travel.
The best illustration of this is from Athlone. I visited there for Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1 this week. The on-the-road series gauged the impact of the pandemic and