By JOHN KANELIS / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I wondered a year ago about the term social distancing.

“Social distancing.” The newest term of art born out of the latest crisis. I can’t decide how to define it: a verb? a noun? an adjective?

That was my thought a year ago on a Facebook post as the nation began to grapple seriously with a killer virus. Little did we know — although some of us expected it — that the COVID-19 virus would kill more than 500,000 Americans.

So here we are. The vaccines have arrived. They are being injected into Americans’ bodies. The hospitalization and death rates are declining. President Biden wants us to celebrate Independence Day as a twofer this coming Fourth of July: to mark our independence as a nation and our independence from the virus.

However, we’re going to continue to practice social distancing.

I no longer am concerning myself with how to categorize the term. I have accepted it now as part of our vernacular. It kind of rolls off the tongue easily these days. Heck, I am willing to type the term without enclosing it in quotation marks. I guess that’s a sign of general acceptance.

You know what? That’s OK with me. Social distancing has become a tactic we have employed in our house as part of a strategy to keep ourselves safe from infection.

So far, so good.

I am going to keep my social distance from strangers … maybe even after we are able to declare victory in this fight for our lives.