The Other New Normal
Ah, the new normal…as I sit in the same sunken spot on my couch where I find myself every night, carefully selecting which show I am going to watch as if it were a 20-hour-long movie, I wonder if I am the only person who hears this phrase and thinks “yes, this is new, but it is certainly not freaking normal.” I realize that this way of thinking may actually be the issue. Perhaps I have been living as if there will be a day in the near future that I wake up and turn on the news to hear “Good Morning America, great news, today there is no more COVID…anywhere.”
This is how I will feel when that announcement happens - DocMoyo
This news is about as likely as I am to wake up one morning and hear my husband say, “you know what honey, I think I actually DO like your pixie cut.” A whim of a decision I made when the lockdown first happened, but… I digress. The point is that this phrase I reference is pretty spot-on, we do need to try to find a way to feel normal in this incredibly new and uncomfortable reality.
When this pandemic first started, my friends and I downloaded a video messaging app so we could keep in touch. It is amazing to me how we are all so different, but we fell into such similar issues in our new world. The first overwhelming similarity is the new turn that “the nothing fight” has taken in our marriages and relationships in general. I need to start out by saying that my relationship with my husband is truly incredible.
We do not argue often, and when we do, we are both pretty quick to realize we were wrong and own it. That being said, there is a new territory that I imagine many people who are living together are navigating and it is this statement: “well, why do you get to go ____, while I sit at home and ___.” You can fill in the blanks with whatever phrase like this you have said in the last 24 hours.
Let’s face it, we are constantly running the numbers of what activities are riskier than others and completely making up facts in our heads about which we think are acceptable and which are not. I, for instance, have not set foot in a grocery store or literally anywhere public since the lockdown happened. But my husband is an ER Doctor in a city that is the new hot spot for COVID-19. So, you had better believe that the thought has crossed my mind “if I were going to get this from anyone, wouldn’t it be him?” Aside from “the nothing fight” situation; I have now started acting out every bad police movie interrogation scene with my nanny who comes to the house daily to watch the kids while I work from home. “Where were you last night, did you use sanitizer, what about your roommates, where were they…” The truth is, we cannot go down this rabbit hole for the rest of our lives grilling everyone who comes near us, but we do have to be responsible in how we proceed. So, what now?
The reason I joined the Welfie team recently is because I see the need for a major shift in the way we view information about our personal health as extremely confidential. Privacy is fine for most diseases that we can keep at bay or treat, but it cannot be the way we approach COVID. I truly believe it is our duty to now disclose to those around us when we have minor body aches, chills, fever, cough, and well…we all know the ever-changing symptom list. No, it is not an exact science and yes, we are still learning so much, but I believe that information will be the key to saving lives. I feel passionate that a company like Welfie, who is trying to make it okay to share that you screened positive or negative for COVID-19 is exactly what we need right now.
On that note, be sure to check out Welfie.com, and stay safe and well in this “new normal.” Oooh, The Politician on Netflix, that is the one. Until next time!
Lauren Stinson is a Multimedia Specialist focused on creating meaningful content to help the bigger cause. Lauren graduated from the University of Arizona with a background in Theater Production. She enjoys spending time with her amazing family, producing videos and anything theatrical.