Let's stop talking about finding the "new normal." I first heard this term when I was unexpectedly widowed 10 years ago. When your life is turned inside out and upside down, there is absolutely no way to consider that anything will be normal again — new, old or just slightly wrinkled. There are days when getting up and putting one foot in front of the other is all you can expect.
A pandemic event can have the same inside-out-and-upside-down effect on our lives, and we struggle to figure out how we will move forward. But then there are days when you see a parade of cars driving down your street to celebrate a birthday. There are those moments of a family learning to eat meals together again and to connect on an intimate level. There are those times when online church becomes the lifeline to hope and faith that you were always seeking. Let's face it, folks. There is no such thing as "new normal" — there is just life. And it's time we embrace it and live it as fully as we can. We do not know the measure of our days, but we do know that life is worth living. As Dr. Ian Malcolm (the Dr. Anthony Fauci of "Jurassic Park") said, "Life finds a way."
C.J. Floyd, Hopkins
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"Eventually, the economy will return to normal." "Sooner or later, things will go back to normal."
I see and hear this everywhere, yet there seems to be no discussion of what, exactly, "normal" entails.
Many people are experiencing anxiety and fear. "Will I have a job?" "What if I have to choose between rent and food?" "I hate having to keep a sharp eye on everyone so they don't get too close." "If I get sick, I can't afford to see a doctor."
What no one seems to be acknowledging is that this state of uncertainty, fear, anxiety and stress is how many of our fellow citizens are forced to live in a "normal economy" or "normal times." It's unpleasant, isn't it? Frightening when the dollars run out before the need does. Scary when you have to go to work because you're "essential," knowing you run the risk of getting sick and not being able to afford a clinic visit or, heaven forbid, time off. And it's paralyzing to be staring eviction in the face with no way out, no help. It's much, much more "normal" than many of the people pining for normality can possibly imagine. Ask any woman in your life if "paying attention to where people are so they don't get too close" is necessary just during a crisis, or always.