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The New Us
We are never back to normal
While we *think* we exit the restrictions, the realisation of what we are now is hitting us all like a ton of bricks. We will not be back to normal. Ever. Because we have learned things about ourselves that we cannot unlearn.
It’s been now over a year following a simple guideline -Let’s not get too close to each other- and we have failed miserably.
While we have applied the rules most of the time, we all have broken them at least once. I dare you to tell me different. As in an anonymous meeting of stigmatised addicts, I will go first:
I announced my impending parenthood amongst coworkers in the middle of a workplace yard while we were distancing from each other. Excuses. Did I need to do that? No. Did I hurt anyone? Absolutely no. Well, maybe… I wasn’t close to them so… But I caused harm because I broke the rules and others might follow my ill-advised example.
Did I need to do it? I didn’t physically need to announce my parenthood to my friends. Physically, it was unnecessary. Mentally, it was comforting to the point of psychological need because I couldn’t hug my parents who live two thousand miles away. I never had the chance to get close to them and say -Mum, Dad, I am going to be a dad-. That forbidden meeting helped me to unload some news about my life that needed to be told in a certain…
