Items

• 2022-04-28

  A New Normal

  It's been over two years since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and I’m beginning to doubt that life will ever go back to what we once knew. Even with restrictions lightened, things are far from “normal”. A lot has changed in my life during this time and the pandemic has come with many struggles. One of the biggest of these for me has been raising young children in our new modern world. My kids are at a curious age where they’d like to explore their world and see new things, an age where social interaction is especially crucial. When COVID first struck I had a young son so I found myself with the concern of not only my health but his as well. In June of 2021 I had my second child, and while I am so grateful for this new addition to our family, having a baby mid-pandemic is tough. I experienced the same obvious concerns for my child's health once again. No parent wants to imagine their child with any illness. I remember feeling so paranoid that they would end up getting sick, or that myself or my fiance would catch it and eventually pass it along to them. It took two years for us all to catch it, but we did, and it sucked. In the beginning it was scary, most people had no idea what we were dealing with. The idea of a life threatening virus was horrifying and caused mass confusion. I found myself with a mask on my face and a bottle of hand sanitizer as well as some Lysol wipes in my pocket at all times. I was afraid to take my son in public because I didn’t want him to be exposed. With time, the paranoia has died down while remaining vigilant to combat germs but still I wonder if this is the new “normal”.