This week's word is NORMAL.
*****************
And we could hardly have imagined the things we would be doing: waiting in line outside a grocery store till the staff let us in, dropping off a package of yeast at the home of someone we've never met, asking neighbours for toilet paper, cutting our own hair. (Yes, I have been doing this, and so far it's working!)
So it's a new normal -- but for us it has been a pretty manageable one, overall. Richard still works the same number of shifts; I'm still doing my online course work; Allison is finding it a bit tedious but not hugely disruptive; Jonathan's missing his structured activities but coping amazingly well for the most part. We are fortunate.
But so many others have been hard-hit by this crisis: people who have lost loved ones to the virus and couldn't be with them when they died or honour them with a funeral; who have lost their jobs due to cutbacks; who have no choice but to go to work in high-risk settings; whose well-being was already precarious because of homelessness, poverty, or mental or physical illness.
And millions of people in the world were already living with the kinds of restrictions many of us are now lamenting as "deprivations," like empty store shelves, lineups for basic activities, lack of access to school and cultural activities. We're getting a very small taste of what normal looks like for the less privileged worldwide.
One great thing about these Five Minute Friday linkups is that they give us an opportunity to see the wide variety of ways people experience, interpret, and write about the same word. And the Covid-19 pandemic is giving us an opportunity to see what our definition of normal really is and whether it's worth preserving or needs to change.
*****************
Yeah, it's worth preserving,
ReplyDeletethe flawed life that we had;
we were maybe undeserving,
but it's not our bad
to have a live of privilege
high above the rest
if we use advantage
to give the world our best,
to send out missionaries,
send contactors to drill
for the waters necessary
so the village won't fall ill.
We did so much with such panache,
and we'll do more, but it takes cash.
Thanks for reading and responding, Andrew.
DeleteHi Stephanie - great to have you here. I'm glad your family is coping well with this situation. There is a lot to be thankful for and a lot to remind ourselves not to take for granted.
ReplyDeleteMy family is much like yours in that we’ve been able to adapt to the changes we’ve had to make. I just told my husband this morning that it’s occurred to me that what we’ve faced are luckily just inconveniences while others face so much worse on a daily basis even without what the virus has caused. We are truly blessed and I hope I never stop recognizing or giving thanks for it. I want my new normal to be a better me!
ReplyDeleteYes. Circumstances like this, on such a large scale, are bound to change us, and we hope that change will be for the better!
Delete