Surviving the Crazy Time - Navigating in a pandemic world
It's hard to imagine progress when we can't see it with our naked eyes. Man, I'd hate to be a scientist these days. People are waiting for you to turn in that vaccine like it was due the day before yesterday. Talk about pressure.
Do we have a vaccine yet? Where's my vaccine? No vaccine yet, but we're making progress. We are entering Phase Three. A big collective groan follows.
No scientist, no matter how strong they are, likes to hear a collective groan from the public.
Not even the billions of dollars of federal grant money can replace that let-down feeling. After all, even scientists want to be liked. There's no glory in peering into test tubes and microscopes in the lab like front-line doctors and nurses get from patients smiling gratefully at them in their clinics and hospitals.
Now I know our pandemic will end eventually. We will return to another normal, whatever that might be.
Meanwhile, I'm missing my "Old Normal" so much. . . and feeling the "New Normal too much. Looking back at what I used to do, I see some new survival tactics.
The Old Normal: I waited in lines for three events and three events only. Rides at Disneyland, live concerts and the Department of Motor Vehicles (grumbling the whole time).
The New Normal: I wait in lines everywhere except church because it's remote.
Lesson: I develop this invisible thing called waiting in line without grumbling. I think patience might be another name for it.
The Old Normal: Masks are for wrestlers, Halloween, and bank robbers.
The New Normal: Every sane person going out in public.
Lesson: Less self-centric, more other-focused. Not just worrying about me "catching the virus" but also "spreading the virus" to other people.
The Old Normal: Called friends and family only when I felt like it. Never thought about how often I called, texted or met them in person.
The New Normal: I've taken the initiative to connect, cultivate my network of friends like never before.
Lesson: Isolation has made me soul search as to how deep my relationships were with the people I care about. Made me think about how often I communicated with them, too.
The Old Normal: There are many ways to die, asteroids, bus crashes, cancer.
The New Normal: Discovered a new way to die. A fatal virus can take me out in days with very little warning.
Lesson: Masks are hot. Masks are uncomfortable. Hard to breathe in. Itchy. Smelly. Compared to death? An itchy, smelly and hard-to-breathe in mask looks way more comfortable.
The Old Normal: Enjoyed reading news about celebrities, new shows and pop stars releasing new songs.
The New Normal: Read news (without enjoying it) of virus positives and death counts for my city and the U.S.
Lesson: Trivia took up a great deal of my news reading. News about health and jobs is what I'm reading and when I can get to it, I read about self-care.
The Old Normal: Showing my warmth as a person through shouts of hello, a wave of the hand, and of course, hugs and kisses.
The New Normal: I wiggle my eyebrows and smile with my eyes.
Lesson: I can hold long-distance (6 feet or 2 meter) conversations with people across the room or across the sidewalk.
The Old Normal: My heroes were NBA stars and movie stars.
The New Normal: Doctors, nurses and postal workers are my new heroes.
And scientists, of course.