A Better Normal

I hear all the time, "I just want things to go back to being normal".

What is normal?  Yes, it's a world where you can hug and shake hands and visit without worrying about infecting someone.  You drive to work every day and feel accomplished by what you've done.  It feels safe.  It's normal.

It's also stagnant.  It is easy to dismiss issues like climate change, civil rights, and economic divides, because we have our own lives to manage; a job, perhaps children...responsibilities.

And now we're sitting at home, furloughed or laid off.  Or we're considered essential and having crazy anxiety wondering if we'll get sick, or shot, or shoved into a lake for doing our job.

What if this is the "new" normal? 

There are religions and spiritualists all over the world that forecast a great awakening in the year 2000.  What if this prediction is true, and this painful process we're going through leads to something spectacular?  Many more people working from home.  High speed internet free and available everywhere.  Fewer cars on the road, leading to less need for the oil and gas industry.  A re-evaluation of our priorities. 

The fossil fuel industry has been subsidized for years, with the argument that if it were not, consumer costs would skyrocket.  And yet, those companies are reporting record profits - and those profits aren't paid back to the taxpayers.  Fossil Fuel Subsidies and the Implications is an interesting read on the subject.

This crisis has taught us that health insurance isn't enough to keep us healthy.  It's highlighted the income disparity between the 1% and the rest of us.  By being furloughed, I've doubled my income being on unemployment.  And before you say that's the problem, and I'm being paid not to work, ask yourself WHY it's doubled my income.  Why was I paid so little to begin with? 

A five day workweek and eight hour day was inconceivable until 1926 when Henry Ford implemented the practice in his factories.  In 1900, 18% of all American workers were under the age of 16. 

Child Oyster Shuckers 1911

When I started working at American Airlines in 1989, smoking was still allowed at workstations, and pantyhose was a requirement when traveling.  Computers were new, and I found myself explaining what a 'mouse' was.  E-mail was revolutionary.

Here's a fascinating overview of work life from the 1950's until now.  We can't conceive going back to the work of the past, and the changes have been positive for the most part.  Check out the predictions from each decade!

I'm looking forward to what people can do given the incentive.  What if our future revolved around our home lives; our family and friends.  The United States could leapfrog into the future that's already going to happen.  Telehealth was starting to be a thing, and now it's growing leaps and bounds.  Self check-outs were already in use, and are rising exponentially.  Amazon already has introduced stores fully stocked and no employees.

Not everyone will be happy about the changes of course.  Change is uncomfortable and sometimes painful.  Families didn't know how they would pay the rent in 1900 without their children over the age of 4 working for a wage.  Corporate leaders don't trust their employees to work remotely.  The CEOs of Exxon/Mobile and Chevron have gotten used to making millions off of our tax subsidies. 

The change will happen, with or without your permission.  And I believe that the world of 2030 will be better, cleaner, and healthier. 

It's an Accomplishment

As Chicken Little was heard to say, "the sky is falling, the sky is falling!".  Worst jobless rate since the Great Depression.  Conspiracy theories taking over social media.  People with assault weapons attempting to block streets near major hospitals.  And real people, human beings, sons, daughters, fathers and mothers dying alone in hospital beds hooked up to ventilators.

I'm not immune - I was the first person in a small walk-in clinic to greet you when you came in complaining of high fever and cough.  When we figured out what was happening, I was the one who called you to confirm the place and time for your Covid-19 test, asking for the make and model of your car so that our nurse could test you without you ever getting out of the car.  And I was furloughed last month when the clinic closed its doors, hopefully temporarily.

Staying home isn't a major hardship for me, I admit.  You see my picture in the dictionary when you look up the term introvert.  A week before being furloughed I took delivery of 8 day-old chicks, who are still living in totes in my living room.  I've been able to watch them mature day by day, hour by hour, and they make me laugh.  Here's Antonio, week one and week 5 so you can see how FAST they grow!




Anxiety, depression, fear, and boredom have become familiar, just as they have for billions.  Instead of making "to do" lists, I started a spreadsheet called "Accomplishments".  Because at the end of every day I was feeling like I had done nothing.  My house was still a mess, the garden hadn't been weeded, etc.  Some days just getting out of bed is an accomplishment.  My list is mundane, like drinking water, digging up thistles in the yard, or unclogging the laundry room drain.  I find myself looking around for things to do, just so I can add an accomplishment.  Doing a sink full of dishes counts, as do scooping litter boxes.

One day I sewed a pillowcase and learned how to make a french seam.


Yesterday I saved myself a couple hundred bucks by unclogging the laundry room drain myself, with this nifty gadget you hook up to a hose.  It took a couple of tries, but my laundry room, furnace room and garage aren't flooding anymore. 

Today the only item on the list may be picking up groceries at Walmart.  And that's okay.  I've been out of the house a couple of times today just to walk outside a bit.  Both of my lilacs look like they're going to bloom this year.  I've transplanted one of them twice trying to find the right amount of sun, so that's an accomplishment!  I can see tiny leaves coming up on my radishes, and onions I forgot about last fall are popping up now.  Soon snap peas and various kinds of lettuce will adorn my plate, and I'll gorge myself on strawberries, June berries, and wild raspberries. 

It's almost time go pickup my Walmart order.  Better throw another load in the washing machine - it's an accomplishment!