The world is opening up, Mama. Now what?
We are opening again.
I am writing this from Los Angeles, CA and while we have had various rollouts of opening up; we have been more on the conservative end of COVID closures. That has changed. While restaurants and bars have been open for a few weeks now, the opening of Disneyland and our school districts especially the big one, LAUSD, makes it real. Wow, it’s been over a year!
I just want to normalize the spectrum of feelings that may arise as “things go back to normal” or at least begin to look closer to how 2020 began. At least here in Los Angeles, we are still required to wear masks, more people are being vaccinated, and we are still being encouraged to social distance. There is more wiggle room now with who we can interact with and just overall increasing feelings of safety as a whole.
In regards to feelings, it’s okay if you feel uncomfortable being around people. We have just spent a good amount of time avoiding most people or at least being cautious being around others.
It is okay to take your time in jumping back into things. Schools opening up again may be the furthest that you want to open up your people bubble for now. Just as at the beginning of this pandemic, it was maybe awkward or uncomfortable to tell others that you weren’t taking visitors or how close you are wanting to interact; you can do this again. Here are some tips for navigating this post COVID restrictions life.
Share your boundaries. Yes, COVID numbers have dropped and yes more people are getting vaccinated but that may not make you one hundred percent comfortable to jump back into how things were before. So share your boundaries. Most parents whether or not they decide to get vaccinated or not will likely have unvaccinated children. So there is still a risk in comparison to, for example, two fully vaccinated adults that live together. Reflect on what you feel comfortable with in terms of interactions with others and voice them.
Expect that you may change your mind. You may be so excited to get out there again. You may have been one of the lucky few who got a Disneyland ticket and that’s great. However, I want to normalize that it is okay if once you get out there in this new sort of normalish world, and decide you actually aren’t as ready as you thought. You may decide to be more cautious when maybe you thought you would be throwing yourself out there and also vice versa. You may start off cautious and decide actually give me those Disneyland tickets. That is all valid and to be expected. Make each decision in this new normal interaction by interaction. Only you will know what makes you feel comfortable. We just spent more than a year hearing from professionals in this field finding out new information and pivoting as needed. You can do the same.
Protect your peace. It can feel like we are living in an all-or-nothing world right now. Unfortunately, that makes it tough with relationships. We may not know what we can say or how to share our insecurities etc. as we grapple with making decisions. It is valid to not want to share every thought that we are going thru in regards to making a decision. One controversial topic that comes to mind is whether parents decide to vaccinate their children. We hear about it almost every day in the news cycle and it will eventually be a decision that parents will have to make. I want to normalize if you want to protect your peace and this decision with what works for your family. It’s okay if your closest ones don’t do the same and it is equally normal if you decide not to share your decisions with others. It can seem like we live in a world where we can share anything and everything with a few strokes on our phone but it is okay to hold some decisions to ourselves. Seek appropriate counsel for decision-making.
The world is opening up and we are all just shifting and learning together. A reminder that just as we pivoted a year ago and it felt hard and unattainable we can do it again, slowly but surely.
What post-COVID restriction tips would you add? Share them in the comments below