The New Normal

How are y’all doing?

I’m surprised how quickly the weirdness of our days has started to feel normal. The sharpness of my initial grief and fear has blunted, leaving me with a nagging ache in my gut. I’m impressed by how my fears and concerns are driven by instinct rather than reason. On some things, I’m feeling more optimistic—the US economy, for example, I feel like it will bounce back fairly quickly. (That feeling is 0% based in arguable facts, by the way.) On others, I’m in greater despair—for example, a dawning realization of the desperate fate of the poor in other countries as SARS-CoV-2 takes hold in urban slums.

Our emotional experience of this lockdown is determined by our personal circumstances. For me, the last 9 days have been wonderful, really. This week was long ago planned as a family vacation time for my kids’ spring break. We had planned to rent an RV and spend 5 days hiking among the condors in Pinnacles National Park. We lost that, but hubby still had the time off work, and we were all together. He took over meal prep and did an amazing job. Kids couldn’t leave the house to hang out with friends so we got extra time with them (though they did spend most of their hours socializing or gaming remotely). A game of “Wingspan” with daughter; a game of “Catan” with son; a marathon viewing of all 3 Lord of the Rings movie epics. We live near many extraordinary wilderness areas, and did three big hikes (like the one shown above, on Stevens Trail near Colfax, CA). I’m talking to my parents, 3000 miles away, every other day. I’m sleeping late. The lilacs and irises and azaleas are blooming in my yard.

What a juxtaposition of a joyful time with a time of social crisis.

This week we leave behind this dreamlike interlude and start the next phase. Daughter left our social cohort to go back to her apartment and start school again. Son, now trapped at home until September, will have to figure out how to do college from his childhood bedroom. Most importantly, hubby will be going back to work at the hospital. The medical center is disrupted in many ways, but right now it looks like the curve here has been flattened at least somewhat. Or are we just a week further behind? Time will tell.

With hubby’s return to health care, my family will now have skin in the game. We will have to make a plan for managing his daily return to the house. We will pray for a trickle of cases rather than a flood.

What is the new normal for you?

Learn more about Amy Rogers and her books, including a free ebook on the scientific backstory of SARS-CoV-2 and emerging infections, at AmyRogers.com.

Do you have a question you’d like Amy to address? Amy@AmyRogers.com

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