I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the phrase “the new normal” in the past few months. While there are quite a few things that I know will be fixtures in the future such as masks will probably be an accessory that I will get very used to wearing for a long time and I will spend less time in enclosed spaces with large crowds of people probably for the rest of my life. That isn’t what I am here to talk to you about however, I want to talk about the unexpected things I have brought into my life in the past few months that I want to keep having in my own “new normal”.
- Slower paced life. I like many people was doing too much before Covid-19 hit. I was working seven days a week, had multiple social obligations, and other volunteer projects. I was always out an about it seemed and there were times that it seemed like I barely was home, or saw my husband when we weren’t both asleep. This time really brought everything to a halt, but as we move forward I am going to be more thoughtful about what I say yes to. I am enjoying having time for yoga, for reading, for working on my garden.
- Working from home. Like much of the world when I am working right now it is mostly from home and I must admit I have fallen in love with it. I now even have turned the den in our home into an actual office and it makes me so happy to go and work in there. I hope that in the future jobs will include more working from home days and I can have that time to spend on work as well as home life.
- Connecting with people around the world. Why did it have to take a global pandemic to connect with people across the country? I found that I spend more time the past few months talking to people through Zoom, Facetime, etc. Even now as we can start meeting up in smaller groups I find that I crave that intentional time of getting together (safely distanced) and hope that continues in the future.
- Continual Learning. This time of staying at home has also coincided with major social upheaval throughout the world with Black Lives Matter protests and many people talking about this important issue. I definitely took the time to engage with media, books, podcasts, and conversations that furthered this discussion and I think it is definitely important to bring this learning past these few months.
- Appreciating my home. I have really enjoyed getting to really learn and love my home. I know the things that work and the things that needed to change and I have really loved getting to know the different spaces and making them feel more like us. Even rooms such as the garage are much more organized and clean than they were when we started staying at home and I actually enjoy all (but two) of the rooms in my home now.
- Care for others. I really don’t mind wearing a mask. Sure, my glasses sometimes fog up and the first breath after taking the mask off in the car is a great one, but to me wearing a mask shows care for others. I want to bring this care for others forward and think about how I am affecting others in everything that I do.
The rest of 2020, and probably most of 2021 is still going to be fairly strange. There are things that I can’t wait to have back, such as vacations, concerts, big family and friend dinners, but I hope there are things that I remember about this time and aren’t quick to change back to the way they were.
What are some things that you would like to bring forward into your “new normal”?
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