The Past Isn't Fixed and Neither Are We: Lessons from Colonial Williamsburg

The Past Isn't Fixed and Neither Are We: Lessons from Colonial Williamsburg

During the earliest months of the pandemic, when daily rhythms fell apart and the future felt strangely suspended, I began walking Colonial Williamsburg with my son. Schools were closed. Playgrounds were wrapped in caution tape. So much of childhood had migrated to screens. But Williamsburg’s brick streets and greens remained open. We walked simply to be somewhere shaped at a human scale and outside. The place offered continuity at a time when a…