Living With a New Normal

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We can’t stay home for forever in our own little quarantine bub-bles. We have to learn to live with COVID-19 in the safest and healthiest way we can and start our new normal life. Who would have thought that we would wind up here? But we have, and we have to adapt and live our lives for now in this new strange way. Some people may have certain underlying health issues and need to continue to lie low. Others may still be nervous on how to restart their lives outside of the house, and I hope the majority of us are ready to safely start our new normal life. There is so much information out there right now, and some of it is conflicting, which makes it very confusing. We need to be smart and follow the CDC guidelines, follow city and state suggestions/mandates, and use our own common sense. For individual questions, we can call our doctors and ask for advice regarding health issues.

We can come out again and go to restaurants, stores, hair salons, spas, and gyms and see people in small groups while social distancing and wearing masks. Not every place you go will have the same rules or guidelines, so be prepared. Have a mask, hand sanitizer, glasses, gloves, and face mask ready in case you need them and start living again.

We all endured loss of some kind during this time period—jobs, graduations, proms, major events, school, weddings, trips, and the joy of seeing friends and family in person. College students were forced to move home, and some of us lost a loved one. Yet, we also gained things we were not expecting during the Stay-at-Home mandate. Family dinners came back when we slowed down, and some of us learned to cook in a whole new way since we could not go out to eat.

Once we stepped off the hamster wheel of life, we did puz-zles, took up hobbies we never had time for, walked or rode bikes in the fresh air daily, appreciated the beautiful areas we live in, and enjoyed the wildlife that came out in droves. Some of us learned a new language online, planted a vegetable garden, adopted a new fur baby, cleaned out every closet in the house, and did many projects around the house. Medi-cal professionals, grocery store employees, and other essential business employees had a totally different experience by not staying home and having to deal with the stress and anxiety of being out there every day helping so many. To them, we say thank you! We also need to remember to just be kind to each other. We have no idea what other people have gone through during this time. And we need to be patient and compassion-ate with each other as we each navigate our new normal in our own way.