Before the pandemic, if I asked you what normal life looked like, what would be the first thing that came to your mind? Would it be going to the store without having to wear a mask? Going to Target and walking aimlessly up and down the aisles, buying things you don’t really need? Going to the office to work instead of working from home? Or, maybe sending your kids to school in person instead of via Zoom?
The pandemic has turned our idea of living a “normal life” on its head. Some of us don’t leave home without a mask—vaccinated or not. Curbside pickup has replaced perusing the aisles of stores, and we dream of the day when we can send our children back to school. The pandemic has been a struggle in other ways too, no doubt about it. Being isolated from friends and family has caused many to struggle mentally and emotionally. The majority of people want to “go back to normal” as soon as possible.
But what if some of us don’t want to go back to the normal that was before the pandemic? What if the pandemic has altered our perception of what normal should be?
My life was busy before the pandemic. Whether it was social events, extracurriculars for my kids, doctors appointments, volunteer gigs—you name it, I probably had it on my schedule. When the pandemic hit and everything shut down, I was left reeling. I had gotten used to being busy all the time, and now suddenly, I wasn’t. My calendar was empty! I had no idea how my family and I were going to cope with being inside with [seemingly] nothing else to do. I thought we’d go nuts.
Needless to say, lockdown was a learning experience. But not in the way you’d think.
Our family ended up thriving during the lockdowns. We spent a lot more time together. I learned things about my kids I never knew, and my husband and I gained a new appreciation for each other. Instead of having to rush around everywhere and constantly having somewhere to be, the only place we needed to be was home with each other. Here I thought we would get sick of each other, and of course sometimes we did. However, we were also given a unique opportunity to reconnect, and we made the most of it. While we struggled at times with not being able to see my friends and family, we treasured that time together as much as possible.
The pandemic altered my perspective of what normal life should be. I learned that I didn’t need to be busy all the time and that it was OK to slow down. I learned how to relax and live in the present, rather than always worrying about the future. I learned to pick my battles, and not everything had to be an argument. Most of all, I learned that we can’t get any of this time back, and we should be spending it doing more of what we enjoy and less of what we don’t. I can say this much— my new normal involves my calendar looking much less cluttered, and my time spent with my family, as well as doing things I have always wanted to do. As states open up and life goes back to normal, I hope you remember that it’s OK to slow down sometimes, too.
The pandemic altered my perspective of what normal life should be. I learned that I didn’t need to be busy all the time and that it was OK to slow down.
