Unprecedented. That is the best and basically only accurate way to describe the past few weeks. Most people in the world have never encountered something of this magnitude for this long. People everywhere are experiencing events and emotions that have not occurred in our lifetime. It’s a weird and difficult time for most of us and it is the new normal.
When all of the shut downs began and basic fun like going to the park, mall, or other public spaces became taboo, it was a strange sight to see but people seemed to appreciate the proactive approach to keeping others safe in the beginning. I wasn’t ready for it all though. A few days before the proverbial “stuff hit the fan,” my husband suggested that we make a special trip to the grocery store. The amount of shopping wasn’t special at all, I got my normal family of six amount of groceries and took about two hours to do so. We had decided to go a few days sooner than we normally did because of the tension that had begun surfacing in the news and throughout social media about the pandemic that was soon to hit America.
That’s when things became so completely different and our new normal began. School was cancelled for the indefinite future, grocery stores were beginning to change their hours, non-essential businesses were beginning to shut down and “social distancing” was familiar phrase in our vocabulary.
What the what just happened?!
I say all of this to tell you that you are not alone. I, for one, am not sure of what tomorrow holds. I don’t know if this ugly virus will take one of my loved ones away from me (God forbid) or if I will be able to walk freely with my children at the mall again. What I do know is that part of me has to accept that these things are just our “new normal.”This normal is the strangest normal I have ever encountered in my life but it is just that – normal.
Embrace the new normal, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Quit putting off those long overdue house projects, you have time right now to do them. Don’t put your kids to bed without hugging and kissing them EVERY SINGLE TIME. Video chat with your loved ones, even great grandma who lives in a virus hotspot – she needs to see you and hear your voice. And lastly, you should make something new with your family or do something you normally wouldn’t find yourself doing – it will likely save your sanity and everyone else you live with!
Try to enjoy your new normal and hope for a day when remnants of our old normal returns.
