The New Normal
I am hoping I can find my innocence and still view the world as I once did once we are post Coronavirus. I struggled to find a photo for this post, but ultimately went with the soccer theme since I truly miss watching my kids play.
Once again, I procrastinated the writing of this blog post. Not because I didn’t want to write it, but because I did not have clear focus on a topic. I had a couple ideas float through my consciousness, but they didn’t feel right. Then this week, I was listening to a webinar, and the host talked about defining your new normal when this is all over and it made me stop and think.
I keep hearing the phrase “The New Normal,” but I see it being used in different contexts. One is the situation in which we currently find ourselves: businesses shut down, education being delivered virtually, daily COVID-19 updates and many people working from home. Physical isolation and social distancing are commonly used terms. Grocery shopping involves following arrows and talking to the cashier through plexiglass. I hear some people refer to this as our new normal, but I disagree. There is nothing normal about our current existence, nor do I ever want this to feel normal. I need to learn to address my feelings, and to cope with this insane situation that is currently our life, however, I do not want to feel like it is normal. I want to feel like this situation is a temporary purgatory, and while I don’t know when we will emerge out the other side, I don’t want this to feel normal. I don’t want to become accustomed to living like this. I will cope and adapt as I need to, but I do not want to embrace it as my future.
The other context I hear “The New Normal” used is in this future state; when we are past COVID-19. I know a lot will be different. Businesses who never considered work from home have realized that it is possible. I wonder how much office space will remain partially filled. Will the plexiglass come down at the grocery store? Will the arrows disappear from the floors?
In this webinar, the host referred to “The New Normal” as how we choose to live our lives post coronavirus which stopped me in my tracks, and I spent the next few hours really reflecting on whether I want a different life than the one I had 8 weeks ago. There are definitely aspects that I will change such as making more time to talk and gather together with friends and family, but the bulk of my life, I want to keep. I have worked hard to build the life I want, both short and long term. Glenn and I have made decisions that allow us flexibility. I have become pickier about which commitments I agree to take on. If I could go back to my life pre-COVID, I would be fine with it although I definitely have a different outlook. My three children play soccer (the oldest for multiple teams and the older two also referee) which makes for a busy life. May and June are normally crazy and I’m generally pretty happy to see the end of June arrive, signaling the end of school and soccer. Right now, however, I would love to see my kids playing soccer. I really miss how happy they are when they are on a field chasing a ball. I am incredibly sad they do not have the opportunity currently to dribble, shield and shoot. I hope that when we are managing three kids playing and reffing on different fields, that I remember how much I missed it and that the memory refocuses me so I focus on gratitude rather than feeling tired, stressed and overwhelmed.
I think it is a good time to reflect on what we want our lives to be when we can return to normal. But I feel like there is this unsaid pressure to change what that looks like. It is certainly a great opportunity to make changes, but for those who were happy, I hope that they do not feel compelled to change, but rather to find gratitude in the life they’ve built.