What is the new normal? I think that’s the question we are all asking at the moment, but maybe the question should be What is normal? My normal is very different to your normal.
Even though its been 9 weeks in lockdown, the normal as we knew it already feels like a distant memory for me and there’s aspects of the new normal I really hope don’t become a permanent part of daily living including being separated from my dad and brother as well as other close family and friends. Until lockdown I have never gone this long without seeing my dad and that is definitely the hardest part for me on a personal level.
You might be reading this and thinking “just video call him” but I can’t because my dad is very old school, and not really interested in technology despite mine and my brothers best efforts to show him how to work it. So for the last 9 weeks I’ve been phoning my dad at least once a day, sometimes more but this is no substitute for being able to see him and give him a hug. I know some people have flouted the rules and they might have their reasons for doing this, but given that both me and my dad are in the “at risk” category, I’m not willing to risk it until advised it’s safe to do so. I know that many disabled people and their families have chosen to limit support services going into their home or families have chosen to provide this support in order to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. However I felt that this was not an option for me because if I had have returned home support staff would have had to come and support me at my dad’s. Due to ill health he or his partner are no longer fit enough to assist me with personal care. Therefor if I had gone back to stay there during the current crisis, I would have been putting my dad and his partner more at risk as there would have needed to be more foot traffic in his home. As a result of staying in my own home, the only people I have seen in person for the last 9 weeks are my support staff and a family friend who has taken to arriving at my living room window to check I’m ok and texting me from outside. I’ve taken to calling him my weekly drive visit
The new normal has also meant that I have explored new ways of passing my time when I’m not working. Usually I pass time by doing some adult colouring, watching TV, reading my kindle or listening to music but right now that’s getting boring as were spending more time at home. Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m a bit of a social butterfly and like to be out and about, at the pub with friends, at the cinema or just doing other things that other 34 year olds enjoy doing. When I’ve been looking at other things to pass my time, I also have the added challenge of finding things that I can do independently or with little support due to my cerebral palsy as on a normal day I can spend up to 10 hours in my house on my own over the course of a day…So my new pastimes now include scratch art which has now become part of my summer home décor. I have also tried stone art painting and ordered a games console along with more art supplies.
Work wise things have very much changed and because of COVID-19 for Your Options Understood (Y.O.U) Y.O.U continues to provide a range of services for disabled individuals and their families as well as providing training and education for support providers and personal assistants. Y.O.U also continues to provide person centred planning support and support around the self-directed support process as well as providing a consultancy services for businesses seeking advice on how to make their services fully inclusive. Similarly to multiple businesses as a result of COVID-19 Y.O.U has had to
adapt to the new normal. This means that over the last few weeks many of my colleagues have now seen the inside of my living room, a part of my life I wasn’t expecting them to see especially not on a professional level but this what happens when you spend the majority of your working day on zoom, google meets or any other video calling platform that I’ve had to use lately. I can definitely see the benefits of this as it cuts out travel and allows businesses like Y.O.U to continue to operate in the current crisis. Without these methods it would be much more of a struggle to continue long term as the likelihood of being able to be in a room with vulnerable people who require advocacy support or to provide training for people that work with this group is highly unlikely until a vaccine or treatment is found.
Zoom fatigue is definitely a new condition that is part of the new normal. You certainly don’t realise that looking at a screen to have a conversation for an hour or so once twice three times a day takes as much energy out of you until the end of the day when the zoom fatigue hits. That said, I am very grateful that we can use these methods because not only is it allowing my business to still operate but its helping me to keep sane whilst interacting with my colleagues.
I have a wall mural painted in my hallway, that I think sums up the new normal for everyone. It says “I'm not crazy, my reality is just different from yours” Its actually from Alice and Wonderland, but I think it sums up life for everyone as the “new normal” slowly becomes “normal”.
