The New Normal

Well here we are again for the third month wondering when things are going to get back to normal. Normal? What is that? Can we get back there? Do we want to get back there? Have we created a new normal?

I personally think that we have now created a new normal on so many levels.

1) Such as banking: Some of you can remember when banks were only open from 9am to 3pm and if you couldn’t get your banking done within those hours you were screwed. Then as time has gone on we have gotten used to banks staying open from 8am (drive thru) till 6pm and even open on Saturdays from 8am till 1pm. Boy that was great. I could hit the bank on my way home and not have to worry about whether or not it will be closed and if I missed the bank during the week. I could just hit it on Saturday anytime during the morning. Now, since this pandemic has started, banks are now open from 9am till 4pm on the weekdays and Saturday hours are drive thru only. Mark my words this will become the new normal in the banking world.

2) Grocery Stores: I can remember, just a few months ago getting everything I needed at the local grocery store including filling my 5 gallon water jugs and taking my blood pressure. Now you can’t get either done there. You can’t return any produce and everyone around you seems very distant and paranoid. This is our new normal.

3) Free time with friends and family: I remember when spending time with one another was all we lived for. Then the 80’s happened and it became all about how much money one can make and accumulate. The divorce rate back in the 70 was very low. For every 1000 people 4 were divorced. Now in 2020 that rate is 16.6 per 1000 people. I believe this trend is going to reverse itself as we begin the process of trying to live in tight quarters with each other and rediscovering why we fell in love with that person to begin with. I could be wrong but I hope not. I believe the new normal will be family first and everything else a distant second.

4) Jobs: Just like I stated in the last paragraph, we have been working like a dog for something at the end of the rainbow that doesn’t exist and we miss those precious moments with our friends and family. I believe this will change and this is a good thing on so many levels. I missed one track meet that my son was in his freshman year in high school which he won. I never missed another meet and saw him win his last three years to complete the sweep, but even though I saw them, I can still kick myself in the pants for missing his freshmen year. I never missed another meet after that. I do believe that the new normal for people will be getting home at an earlier hour and spending time with their families and quitting work earlier than usual.

5) The importance we have put on our own health. Well this is a no brainer. With the news media having wet dreams with this virus many have begun to look at their own health and assess where they really need to be health wise. I have never seen so many people riding their bikes and walking in my life. People are working out at home and in the parks and really beginning to emphasize their own mortality. I see more videos on Facebook of people working out and having fun than ever before. This, I know, will become the new normal

6) Finding God: A man once said that he never met an atheist in a fox hole in the middle of a war. Yup that’s right, even though many states have told churches not to meet, even more people are going either virtually or face to face. Faith has become more prevalent and people praying for each other has become a daily habit, especially praying for those that have the virus. Nurses praying for nurses. Doctors praying for doctors. Doctors praying for nurses and sometimes nurses praying for doctors (okay that was a joke), we are all praying for each other to get through this and we are beginning to rely on a higher power…… Yes God! This is becoming the new normal.

It takes 60 days to make something a habit. Soon we’ll be beyond that mark. Welcome to the new normal.