The New Normal
So I'm actively reading this to you as I write. To set the scene, you are laying in bed, just getting over a low grade temper tantrum. Charlotte is in her bed making her classic "I'm exhausted but willing to fight the good fight because sleep is for suckas" sound effect. The more I read, the calmer you both seem to get. This is our thing, has been since you were younger than your sister is now. She's 11 months by the way. Yes, time has definitely flown by. Anyway, the bedtime tradition goes as such: I lay you both down, sit in a comfy chair, and I read you off to sleep. Charlotte has accepted the tradition fairly well considering how demanding she is for physical contact while dozing off.
At this point, you're oddly quiet. The sandman is either about to deliver the final blow or has already won the night. Charlotte, on the other hand, continues to hold on for dear life. It's pretty dark in the room with only your Toy Story nightlight providing luminescence, so I can't see either of your faces. Though now, I don't need to. At the mention of Toy Story, you perk up to make sure you heard right. "We are not about to watch that right now." You're clearly not asleep, and with you now speaking, your sister no longer seems close. She's actually going from sitting to standing in rapid repetition. She is a fighter for sure. Good luck with that. This is my first time reading while I'm writing, but we read all the time. Considering how long these reading bedtime sessions have been going on, it allows a feeling of normalcy. Right now, it's just me and my small humans somewhat enjoying each other's company (because now Charlotte is crying). No pandemic, no election, no TV, no worries. These are imperative moments at this point. It’s a way to control something when everything else seems so out of control.
Intermission: So the reading while writing has stopped. Your sister was not appreciative of the nuance of it all. You're both sleep now, and I am no longer in the room with you. Honestly, reading while writing was a pretty tall order anyway. I was forced to stop reading and writing, and rock your sister to sleep. This did not occur without your complaint that you need to be rocked to sleep too. “Daddy, me a baby. Put her down.” I refused, proceeded to make up a story off the top, and within 15 minutes you both were KO’d.
So normalcy, it's a rare order these days. Actually less rare, more completely different. What was standard prior to March 2020 is now in most cases flipped on its head. And I can’t decide whether that’s a good or a bad thing. It just...is. There are some aspects of pandemic living that are dope, while my brain has been slow to adjust to others. Then there are still other changes I haven’t adjusted to at all and struggle to see a future me that has either. Take masks for instance. Can I see myself wearing a mask forever? Absolutely not. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not an anti-masker by any means. I wear a mask every time I enter a public facility. I mask up on my approach and immediately take it off once I’m back in the fresh air. I understand the preventive aspect of mask-wearing. It is a rational practice by all regards. HOWEVER, masks suck. They make my beard inch, so I shaved my beard. No beard, they break out my face. I have this thing where constant pressure behind my ears gives me a headache, so that happens with almost every grocery trip (as well as when I wear too small sunglasses). Smells for the most part are non-existent, obviously by design. Visual senses are impacted as well. Socially, masks create a lot of uncertainty for me. They cover most of a person’s face, again by design. But it is much more difficult to read facial expressions without a mouth and nose visible . In divisive times like these, reading someone’s expression is imperative. I’ll continue to wear one for the foreseeable future, but I don’t imagine it will become 2nd nature for me anytime soon. Being that there’s no telling when the pandemic will be under control, my mind and body may end up just beat into mask submission.
Then you have some dope things like lighter traffic. In the early weeks after the stay-at-home order was lifted, we would just hit the streets for a drive. Go visit Mimi, Titi, and Jace or Coco, Uncle Nigel, Kiran, and Milo. With most businesses closed and the multitudes quarantining, the roadways were wide open. Instead of the standard 30-45 it takes to get between the various areas of the city, we could now move in 15 minute increments. That may not seem too significant, but it's a pretty big deal. At this point, the news says that the purity of traffic-less streets has deteriorated into scenes from the Fast and Furious, but they use the same 2 or 3 clips every time the topic is discussed 🤔. I personally haven’t seen anything too crazy, and people have been racing the streets at Atlanta for awhile. See https://lowercaseg.me/letterstolowercaseg/driveitlikeyoustoleit for more info about that lol. I may have even opened it up myself once or twice in 2020. Don’t tell.
Note to self, will you ever drive a car? Autonomous vehicles will likely be another new established norm within the next decade, and you won’t be 16. Weird to think about.
Also dope, going to parks and just generally being outside is a popular thing again. I play basketball every 2 weeks. We meet up with friends and family at the park to hangout. We go on walks. And for the most part, places are less crowded.
Finally, we have my experience with the instantaneous change of working in the office to working from home everyday. I can count on one hand the number of times I have gone into work in the past 8 months. At first, it was a nuisance. Trying to find the combination of quiet, comfortable, and strong wifi connection was a tough task. I had to sacrifice one of the three aforementioned environmental factors pretty much everyday. I eventually started to move to different areas of the house depending on the task at hand. Then things started to adapt. I realized with some intentionality, the situation was feasible. It eventually became enjoyable, a pleasure even. I would eat home cooked meals for lunch pretty much everyday. I scheduled exercise during the day to combat this new sedentary lifestyle. I worked more hours, but they were much more flexible. More a blessing than anything, I got to hang with you and Charlotte everyday. I would eat with you guys and have lunch break dance parties. We would go on aforementioned walks outside. While I’m documenting a process or manipulating some data, I could watch you interact with your sister. I could give you both immediate praise for accomplishing a new feat and correction and direction when either of you have misstepped. Instead of missing Charlotte’s latest and greatest milestones, I actively participated in their occurrence. The time we have been afforded has truly been priceless. I thank God for it. I’m glad I realized and began to take advantage before the time passed.
Looking back on 2020 in a few years should be an interesting exercise. Did we learn ANYTHING AT ALL as a society? Has there been progress with social injustice and systemic racism? Did we beat the coronavirus? What new normals ended up being permanent? What went back to the way it was? What regrettably went back to the way it was? Did my recession investments pay off? Buy and hold, son. Buy and hold. Which good ol boy curmudgeon cried longer about the election results? Who won the civil war? Where did the zombies actually come from? Did the squirrels end up winning the war for the block? That being said, documenting our history through writing you these letters must continue in order for a comprehensive lookback to be possible.
Love,
Yo Daddy
