The View From Here – How Do You Feel?
I’m with you. I’m feeling pretty “done” with all this pandemic stuff.
A week of vacation with nothing to do reminded me how done I feel. And that is not to make light of the situation so many find themselves in. Lives have been lost. Jobs have been lost. Businesses at risk of closing if they haven’t already. Life as we remember it seems so far away. Every time we get a glimpse of back to normal there’s another setback or another announcement from the government with new restrictions and cancellations.
Not sure I understand this latest round of closures and restrictions. I almost questioned whether or not I was actually “allowed” to go outside for a walk. We’ve lost a lot in the past year and we just want our normal lives back. But how ready are you feeling about normal? What will that look like to you?
I’m a bit hesitant about returning to normal and over the last week of vacation, I was questioning why. What in the world would hold me back from running back to normal life?
April Break was very different in our house this year. No movies, no haircuts or pampering. No eating out. No travelling. And it sucked. Instead of the usual excitement, there was a lot of sitting around wondering what to do now, wondering why I even took vacation if there was nothing to do anyway.
My hair is out of control and so far I’ve managed to not butcher it with the scissors myself. My eyebrows are downright scary. And my motivation to do things I used to love doing especially on days off has dwindled.
It’s got to be over soon, right? Vaccinations are happening. As slow as that might be. But even as I registered and got my spot on the waiting list – I felt some hesitation.
I don’t know about you, but in my own way I have adjusted to life in a pandemic world. I have a new work from home routine that works for me. I get up, I drink my coffee, sit outside (when it isn’t snowing), workout and get ready for my workday. I’ve loved being at home with my kids. I’ve loved the relaxed pace of working from home and the lack of a dress code. Dressing up when I want. Dressing down when I want. I’ve loved working in my scrapbook room, surrounded by pictures of my family and friends, plants and books. I love working in my slippers and staring out the window at the birds in the trees. So thankful for the chance. And I feel time slipping away. I feel that as we get closer to the end of this pandemic way of life, there will come a day when it all comes crashing down and I have to return to that busy work life which now seems so far off. And with it, encounters with other people and crowded room situations and I wonder what that will feel like and if we are all as ready as we think.
According to THIS article, a lot of us are not as ready as we think and returning to pre-Covid life is going to be a lot harder than we think.
“As COVID-19 restrictions lift across the county, Bernstein has found herself feeling increasingly anxious. “Maybe it’s like Stockholm syndrome, except our captor is the coronavirus,” she said. “We’re all so used to the mental and physical havoc it wreaked upon us that any sense of normalcy feels wrong.”
Think about that.
Will it ever feel normal again to be in a crowd of people? To NOT worry about an invisible enemy that seems out to “get us”.
How much long term damage has this virus caused? Beyond the actual threat of the actual virus, we’re dealing with some serious consequences. How long do you think it will really take to go back to “normal?” I wonder.
“A recent survey by the American Psychological Assn. found that 49% of Americans feel uneasy about adjusting to in-person interactions once the pandemic ends. Similarly, 46% said they don’t feel comfortable going back to their pre-pandemic life.”
So I’m wondering, how comfortable do you feel returning to normal? What is something you are going to have a hard time adjusting BACK to? I know for me the hardest part will be accepting everything is okay again. And the idea of returning to back to work the way it used to be scares me more than I’d like to admit.
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