I recently spent a few weeks traveling the Northeast. I started my journey in Washington, D.C., visiting a friend who recently moved there; celebrated said friend’s bachelorette party and bridal shower in New Jersey; and in between, reprised my role as a digital nomad, working from my childhood home in Rhode Island. (And naturally, squeezed in some time at waterfront restaurants and cheered on the Red Sox at Fenway, too.)
During that time, I hardly had to wear a mask. They’re federally required on planes and trains (and in airports and train stations), but other than that, I went mostly mask-free (thanks to being vaccinated, of course).
In other words, I felt normal.
Now, the Delta variant is changing the game—and the next time I leave my apartment and head somewhere indoors, I know I’ll be putting the mask back on.
Say it with me now, ugh.
I know, it’s defeating. And frustrating. And it feels like a gut punch to take a step back when we’ve all been enjoying the feeling of normal.
But if we’ve learned anything in the past, oh, 17 months or so, it’s that normal is mostly a place where we feel (felt?) comfortable—but nimble is a place where we can thrive.
Nimble is where we pivot, get creative, and, well, find the silver linings. It’s not safe, nor is it designed to be. But there are opportunities, if we look for them.
It’s disheartening (at best) and infuriating (totally valid) that we’re here again. That your back-to-workplace plans might be headed for the back burner. That your travel plans might be on pause yet again (sigh). But you have tools at your disposal to get through this once-more uncertain time.
Tools like:
And when all else fails, reflecting on small wins of the past—and knowing there are more to come. Wins that you might have missed if things were normal.
Supplemental reading: If you’re like me, books are a favorite form of escapism—and the best one I read last year was Hamnet.
Mind you, it takes place in a plague-ridden world, too. (At least we know how that one ends.)
It really is Urgh. In Scotland we had had masks for over a year and we will have them till after Christmas .
I think we see them as part of normal now and I’m loving how people are accessorising them now .
Let’s hope 2022 allows them to go