I know most of us miss “normal”; we are tired of the “new normal” or “next normal.” I miss it, too. But I’m not sure I’m ready to go back yet. Is this what it’s like with life after COVID? I think I’m suffering from back-to-the-real-world anxiety.
My family has been extremely careful this past year with high-risk family members. We followed the suggested guidelines and only went in stores on occasion. We wore masks, did grocery pickup, didn’t eat in restaurants, cancelled trips, and didn’t send our little one back to school. We kept our bubble small. It was challenging but we felt “safe”. To some, this is extreme, but for us, this is what we felt comfortable doing.
Now that Texas is opening back up, it scares me. Don’t get me wrong, I miss friends, brunches, and play dates. But our little bubble has kept us safe and it makes me nervous to go back out again and experience life after COVID.
We’re lucky: My husband and I are vaccinated and can start to do more normal things, but it just feels weird. I will say it’s been amazing to see family and hug again.
I will never take a hug for granted again.
But now that we can go places again, I feel my heart race when we enter a building and see a lot of people. My initial thought is, “Why are there so many people; aren’t we in a pandemic?”
My oldest recently went back to Pre-K, and it’s been a blessing for her to get back into a routine. But even she talks about germs and how she wishes they would go away. We talk about vaccines and how things are getting better, and it makes her little heart so happy.
I recently took my girls to Crayola and it was packed, which is great for them, but man, I didn’t expect it. Everyone had on masks, with hands sanitized, but it just felt strange. The roads are busy, shopping centers are full, and it just feels weird. It’s hard to explain! I know how hard this has been on everyone. Small business need to be busy again but I’m struggling. How do we just go back to how things were before?
But I know and appreciate that things are getting better. People are getting vaccinated and we need some more normal in lives again. That’s why I got vaccinated, right? I know my girls are ready. But how do I make myself feel safe in this strange life after COVID, back in the real world? I guess I’ll tell myself I’m brave like I remind my girls…and I’ll take a deep breath and try, just like they do.
I feel very similarly!
Hank Green (Vlog Brothers) had a great video about sitting down and evaluate what positive things came from the year that you want to carry forward and what needs to not come back moving forward.
Great article!
I totally understand. Now that the vaccine is more available people are acting like this whole thing never happened. But, I’m still keeping things pretty low key to prevent my kids who can’t be vaccinated yet from getting it. We are doing baseball, but wearing masks, unlike most of the players and fans.